


The Wedding of Caline Bustier

by Ronoken



Series: The Miraculous World of Caline Bustier [11]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Bachelorette Party, Badass Fight, Caline Bustier is the queen we deserve, Caline Bustier sugar, Chloe Bourgeois is the queen we deserve, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/F, F/M, Gen, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Good Mom Caline Bustier, Good Teacher Caline Bustier, Homophobia, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I cry at weddings and funerals, Identity Reveal, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Parental Issues, Poor Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Sabrina Raincomprix Needs Love, Sabrina Raincomprix-centric, Sabrina is a hot mess, Saytr, Self-Acceptance, Stripper Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, The Akuma Is In My Dress, Thirsty Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Wedding Fluff, Weddings are INTENSE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26295112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ronoken/pseuds/Ronoken
Summary: “Single lady or not, that doesn’t mean we have to look at… At that,” Caline sputtered.“Ooo!” Rose piped up. She held up her phone. “Are you sure? There’s an agency that specialized in superheroes! Who wants a naughty Chat?”A slew of hands went up.“Girls, no!” Caline yelled. “Marinette, put your hands down, for God’s sake. One is enough.”Marinette put her hands down and quickly took a drink.***You are cordially invited to the wedding of André Bourgeois and Caline Bustier. Be sure to enjoy the bachelorette party, as I’m sure our guests have. Also, you may notice some family drama coming from the dance floor. That’s just a young lady standing up for herself and the person she loves, and God help anyone who tries to put her down. Also, please ignore the fire.It’s finally time for the wedding! Come for the heartwarming exchanges, stay for the ass kicking. When Sabrina is backed into a corner concerning her relationship with Chloé, who she is will finally emerge. Could that person be… a hero?A story about love, acceptance, standing up against what you know is wrong, growing up, and being true to yourself.
Relationships: André Bourgeois/Caline Bustier, Chloé Bourgeois & Caline Bustier, Chloé Bourgeois/Sabrina Raincomprix, Roger Raincomprix & Sabrina Raincomprix
Series: The Miraculous World of Caline Bustier [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654729
Comments: 290
Kudos: 193
Collections: The What To Do Series





	1. The Worst Fights Are During Dinner, I Swear

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, and welcome back to the Miraculous World of Caline Bustier!
> 
> So, yeah. This is a long-requested sequel/bridge work to the Miraculous World of Caline Bustier, but assuming you can follow along, it’s also a story onto itself. You don’t have to have read my other stories to enjoy this one, but it would help explain a few things.
> 
> Fair warning before you begin. This story deals with themes concerning relationships, homophobia, and acceptance. Also, there’s, like, a totally rad fight scene later on. Seriously, while I was writing it, I was all, “Yeah! Woo! Get ‘em!” So yeah. Good times.

Evenings in the Raincomprix household were typically quiet. Roger would get in around seven, and Sabrina would typically have dinner waiting for him. It was their rhythm for at least three nights of the week. The rest of the time, Roger either had to work late, or Sabrina was, well, not there.

“Sweetie, these dumplings are fantastic!” Roger slurped the rest of his bowl down and let out a burp. Sabrina covered her mouth and laughed.

“Thanks, dad. I’m glad you like them. I got the recipe from the chefs at the hotel.”

Roger scraped at his bowl with his spoon to get a little extra out. “Well, you tell them that they did a fine job. You’re a natural at this! You ever think of going into cooking?”

Sabrina shrugged. “Not really? I mean, I guess I could? I dunno.”

Roger smacked his lips and ate an errant dumpling that was on the side of his bowl. “So, what time is the bachelorette party? You don’t wanna be late.”

“I’ll head out after dinner,” Sabrina said. “I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of, first.”

“There’s not gonna be anything questionable there, is there?” Roger asked, eyeing his daughter. “No alcohol? You don’t wanna get Caline in trouble by having her students drink with her.”

“Dad, come on!” Sabrina chided him. “She’s pregnant and we’re kids. It’s not going to be like that. We’ll be fine. I’ll… I’ll keep an eye on things.”

Roger eyed his daughter across the small table. Everything was small; the apartment was tidy, but very cramped. The style was defined by an unholy mix of faux wood grain paneling and green and white wallpaper. Most of the decorating had been done a while ago, and neither resident was eager to make any changes. The pictures on the wall that showed a smiling brunette woman standing with Sabrina and Roger were all faded and yellow. There were a handful of just Sabrina and her dad, but the majority of the wall space, as well as the artistic choices throughout the tiny flat, served as a quiet, dingy shrine to times gone by.

“You ever think about your future, sweetie?” Roger asked. “You’re so good with helping people. I don’t suppose you’d wanna take after your old man, would you?”

Sabrina let out a nervous chuckle and shook her head. “Honestly? I haven’t thought too much on it, dad. I just, um, I’m happy just being me right now, you know?”

Roger gave her a small smile. “I hear you. When I was your age, I was all turned around about what I wanted to be. Thought I’d be an actor. I was pretty good, if I do say so myself. Starred in several stage shows. It’s where…”

Roger trailed off.

Sabrina nodded. “It’s where you met mom. I know the story, dad. It’s okay.”

Roger shook his head. “Anyway, I just want you to be happy, sweetie. You’ve got a real gift for public service, and I don’t wanna see it go to waste, is all.”

“Thanks,” Sabrina said. She took a big bite of dumplings as Roger checked his phone.

“Oh hey,” he said. “We got our invites to André’s wedding.” He pointed to the small end table by the front door. There was a stack of mail haphazardly piled there, and on top, two white and gold invites lay open. “They really waited until the last minute to get those out.”

“I know,” Sabrina said, grinning. “I’m so happy for them!”

“Who woulda thought those two would get together?” Roger mused.

“I think it’s cute,” Sabrina said. “Ms. Bustier has been on a cloud this last month, and you should see them together. They’re just adorable!”

“Heh,” Roger let out a small laugh. “I have seen them, and I still can’t get over it. I also can’t believe he knocked her up. You’d think he would’ve taken his time this time around, but nope! Classic André. Ahh well.” He looked to Sabrina. “So, who are you taking to the wedding? The invite says you’ve got a plus one.” He patted his mouth off with his napkin. “You could take Kim. He seems like a well-rounded young man.”

“Please,” Sabrina snorted. “Kim is an idiot. Besides, he’s dating someone on the swim team.”

“He is? Well, that’s too bad.” He set his napkin down. “Then who were you going to go with?”

Sabrina turned slightly red and looked down at her bowl. “Well, um, I figured I’d, um, just go with Chloé.”

“You know, you don’t have to follow her around everywhere she goes,” Roger said with a frown. “I know you love helping her, but maybe you should, I dunno, give her a break this once? Besides, she’s probably going with that Adrien boy.”

Sabrina shrank a little more in her seat. “She not, um, Adrien isn’t… Chloé already asked me if I’d go. And I said yes.”

Roger stared at her. “You mean, like, as her helper?”

Sabrina squirmed a bit in her seat.

“As her date.”

Roger sat still, staring at his daughter. The silence in the apartment was deafening as Sabrina waited for her father to respond to what she had just said.

“Sabrina,” Roger said with a tired sigh. “We’ve been over this. I know you’re, well, best friends and all, but this is getting to be a little much, don’t you think?”

“I’m sorry, but…” Sabrina kept her eyes focused on her bowl. “What exactly about it is ‘a little much?’”

Roger leaned back and rubbed his face. “Sweetie, I get it. You care for your friend, but enough is enough. I mean, this isn’t, it’s not something to joke about.”

Sabrina looked up at her father and glared. “Joke about? Excuse me?”

“People like that… Sabrina sweetie, they don’t turn out well. The world isn’t kind to girls who, well, act like that. If you wanted me to give you more attention, all you had to do was ask.”

Sabrina felt hot tears starting to form in her eyes. Her words, normally quick and well-crafted, started to feel squeezed in her throat. “Act like… You think this is some stupid game? That I’m doing this for _attention_? Dad… Chloé and I…”

“That’s enough,” Roger sighed. “You need to focus more on…”

“We’re _dating_ , dad. She’s…”

“…Your future, and you’ve got a bright one, but you can’t risk it by…”

“…Important to me, and pretending it’s not real doesn’t…”

“…Going around acting like this. You’re going to get yourself into something you can’t…”

“…Mean it’s going to go away! She’s my girlfri…”

“ _THAT’S ENOUGH!_ ”

Roger pounded his fist on the table, cutting both of them off. Sabrina let out a terrified “eep!” as the dining set shook.

“That’s enough talk like that,” Roger said in a quiet voice. “You’re obviously just worked up tonight. Find yourself a nice boy for the wedding reception. Your aunt would like some pictures.”

Sabrina sat with her arms crossed. She kept her focus on the table and muttered.

“What was that, young lady?”

Sabrina looked up at him and spat out, “Mom would have listened to me.”

Roger recoiled like someone had punched him in the gut. Sabrina abruptly stood and marched towards her room.

“Sabrina? Sabrina, get back here!” Roger called after her. “You apologize right now, young lady!”

“For what, telling the truth?” Sabrina shouted back.

“Sabrina!”

“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!”

_SLAM!_

Roger sat alone in the dining room. Sabrina had slammed the door to her room so hard that a picture of the two of them at the beach had fallen off the sill.

Roger leaned his elbows on the table and put his face in his hands. Mercilessly, the pressing quiet of the apartment pushed against him.

*** 

Shout out to my gut-check reader, Kasienda! Mainly because she didn't tell me to go to Hell when I dropped a 16k word story in her lap in the middle of a work week.


	2. Chat Nu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello ladies...

“It’s just a stripper!” Chloé argued. “It’s not like I’m getting you an escort.” She paused and eyed Caline. “Did… Did you want an escort?”

“No!” Caline snapped, her face red. She was sitting at a table in the hotel’s night club surrounded by her students and a mess of goodie bags. The room had been cordoned off for their private party, which was admittedly small. Clara Nightingale had just stepped off the stage after finishing her set and grabbed a drink from the bar.

Caline rubbed her temples. “Chloé, sweetie, I’m not getting a stripper in front of my students. I have _some_ standards, dear.”

She didn’t, actually. A stripper admittedly sounded fun, but she couldn’t come back from her honeymoon and stand in front of the class and look them in the eyes knowing she had condoned something like _that_.

“Aww, come on!” Alya moaned. She was in a black spaghetti strap dress that looked good even when she slouched in her chair. “We’re not your students right _now._ Live a little!”

“Come on, Ms. B,” Alix said from the next table over. She sipped a drink that Caline didn’t remember her getting and spilled a little on her red dress. From what Caline had heard, Marinette and the others had practically held the petite redhead at gunpoint to get her to dress up. “It’s your last night as a single lady.”

“God, this has been a blast. It’s too bad Lila couldn’t come,” Alya pouted.

“Totally,” Juleka agreed. “But hey, when the Prime Minister appoints you to be his junior goodwill ambassador, you don’t turn him down.”

The girls nodded in agreement.

Okay, story time. You all think this is some stupid lie for attention. I know, I know, but for real, the best part about this? Like, seriously? It was all true.

I know, right?

Okay, so Caline and André had entertained the PM at the rehearsal dinner the week prior, and Caline went on ad nauseum about the merits of Lila Rossi and how she would be a perfect fit for the new junior ambassador program. She hinted several times that her immediate appointment would be the perfect wedding present, so of course the PM, being a tightwad concerning wedding gifts, agreed. At that very moment, the girl in question was sitting in Charles de Gaulle Airport waiting for her flight to Kenya.

The day after it was announced that Lila would be missing the wedding, Chloé dipped into her savings to book Caline and André the presidential suite for their honeymoon in the Maldives. Marinette responded by comping the entire wedding dress and returning 60% of the commission deposit. She only kept the cost of materials.

Caline celebrated by taking them both out to dinner. She wasn’t fond of the exchange student, either.

Bitch-mode Caline: Activate.

Okay, back to the story.

“Single lady or not, that doesn’t mean we have to look at… At that,” Caline sputtered.

“Ooo!” Rose piped up. She held up her phone. “Are you sure? There’s an agency that specialized in superheroes! Who wants a naughty Chat?”

A slew of hands went up.

“Girls, no!” Caline yelled. “Marinette, put your hands down, for God’s sake. One is enough.”

Marinette put her hands down and quickly took a drink.

“Um, one hand, or one naughty Chat?” Rose asked. “Because there’s a twofer deal listed. Ooo! We could also order a Cheshire!”

“Let me see that,” Sabrina, Chloé, and Juleka all said at the same time.

Caline choked a bit on her virgin daiquiri.

“Hey!” Mylene said. “Does anyone here know how to get a hold of the _actual_ Chat Noir? That would be better than any stripper.”

“Dude!” Alix said, perking up. “I’m totally on it!”

“Alix?” Caline asked. “What… What are you doing?”

“Aaaaaaaand sent!” Alix grinned as she tapped her phone. A moment later, everyone’s cells lit up.

Caline checked her phone to see an Akuma Alert warning text flash for the hotel. “You did not,” Caline said, horrified.

“The entertainment is on the way!” Alix cried out. The girls cheered as Marinette crossed her arms and glared at Alix. Alix noticed and shrugged. “What?”

“I’m sure if Ladybug knew what you were doing, she’d be disappointed in you,” Marinette scolded her. “The Akuma Alert app is not a toy.”

Alix looked around with a completely fake look of innocence on her face. “Well, _Ladybug_ isn’t here, so _Ladybug_ doesn’t know, does she?” Alix asked with a smirk and a wink.

Marinette fumed as she downed her drink. “You are _never_ getting a fucking miraculous,” she quietly muttered.

“Um, Marinette? Where did you get that drink?” Caline asked. The girls were supposed to be served virgin drinks from the sidebar, but Caline just noticed that the sidebar had a new bartender, and Marinette’s drink looked a tad fuller than it had a few minutes ago.

“Chloé,” Marinette said with a hiccup.

Caline looked to the rest of the girls. “And the rest of you?”

“Chloé,” they chorused. Caline found herself being toasted.

“Goddammit,” Caline muttered. “Chloé!”

“Yeah?” The blonde called back from the stage. She was busy adjusting a microphone.

“I can’t be out drinking for real with my students! You’re going to get me fired and your dad in a ton of trouble!”

“What?” Chloé asked, innocently. “Those are all non-alcoholic. Right girls?”

“To Chloé!” Mylene slurred as she raised her glass. Rose had to grab her as she started to slide out of her seat. “The besht friend with a bee I evers knew!”

“TO CHLOÉ!” The room chorused.

Caline put her face in her hands. “You are going to get me fired.”

Chloé leaned into the microphone. “Your boss dresses like an owl and chases people in the park. I think you’re good.”

“That’s completely different!” Caline snapped. “Chloé, if word of this gets out, the press is going to eat your father alive! Think of the moral implications!”

Chloé thought about it for a moment. “Girls, she’s right. We shouldn’t be drinking anything bad tonight.”

“Thank you,” Caline said. She straightened her dress. “Now, you should all…”

“…Which is why it’s too bad the akuma magically changed our drinks!” Chloé yelled.

The room cheered.

Caline slumped in her seat. “I’m dead.” She muttered.

The door to the nightclub room burst open as Chat Noir leapt in. He somersaulted in the air before landing on a table in a defensive stance. He was twirling his staff as he anxiously looked around. “I’m here. Where’s the akuma, ladies?”

“Chat Noir, there’s been a mistake,” Caline started. She was abruptly cut off.

“Check our dresses! It could be hiding!” Alya yelled.

“You’d better frisk me!” Mylene said. “I think it’s in my slip!”

“It made my drink badass!” Alix hollered. She laughed and downed the rest of her beverage.

“Up here, alley cat!” Chloé cried out from the stage. Confused, Chat leapt to her side.

“Hi Chloé. What’s the situation?”

Chloé grinned as she lifted the microphone to her face and turned it on. “Ladies and ladies, presenting the toast of the town, the naughtiest little kitty this side of the Seine, Chat Nu!”

Chat Noir blushed. “Um, you know that’s not my name, Chloé.”

“It is tonight!” She cried out. She slapped him on the back and hopped off the stage.

A spotlight focused on Chat as the ladies in the room started to whistle.

“What?” Chat asked, confused.

A loud, obnoxious trumpet started in as a sleazy jazz number rolled out of the nightclub speakers.

“What?” Chat asked again, his face going pale.

“Take it off!” Alya yelled.

“I’ve got a 20!” Alix cried out.

“Claws in! Claws in!” Chloé chanted. “Plagg, if you can hear me, drop his shirt transformation and I’ll let you have a pound of cheese! Two if you cataclysm his pants! Claaaaaws in!”

Chat visibly sweated, not sure if his kwami was feeling all that loyal.

Alix dug in her purse and held up another 20. “40 bucks if you sit in Mari’s lap and purr!”

“ALIX!” Marinette screamed.

Alix grinned. “Let her ring your bell and she’ll toss in another 20!”

“Woo! Show us your butt!” Rose cheered.

Chat paused. “Wait, Rose? You’re into this, too?”

Juleka blinked as she looked at her date. “Really?”

“Why not? I mean, yeah, he’s a guy, but, well, he’s built. It’s all in good fun.” Rose downed her drink and slammed the empty glass on the table. “Whip out your lucky charm!”

Juleka spit her drink out and started coughing as the room exploded in laughter. Alix had slid out of her chair and was laughing so hard her throat couldn’t make sounds anymore. Marinette’s face was bright red and buried in her hand.

Chat turned beet red. He looked around the room. “Really, this isn’t what I would expect from this group. Ms. Um, Ms. Bustier?”

Caline shrugged. “I had nothing to do with this.”

Frowning, Chat noticed the girl beside her. “…Marinette? You too?”

Marinette opened the fingers on her left hand enough to peek at Chat. In silent response, she held up a 20 Euro bill with her right.

“There’s no akuma,” Caline called out. “They tricked you. Sorry, kiddo.”

Chat shrugged, relieved. “Well, I guess I’m just glad that everyone’s having a good time. And while I do come with my own pole,” he twirled his cane, “I’m not really much of a dancer.”

Caline put her hand to her forehead. She slouched in her seat and pointed at the door. “Just get out of here before they make you do something you’ll regret.”

Chat gave a nervous laugh as he saluted the room. “Well, I’m glad I could give you a smile. Have a good evening, ladies.”

Before anyone could say anything more, Chat ran out of the room.

“What a waste,” Chloé said. She looked to Caline. “I get it. Not your thing. Too young?”

Caline put her head to the table. “I wish I could drink right now,” she muttered.

Chloé patted her on the shoulder and noticed Sabrina sitting off to the side, downing what appeared to be her third drink.

“Hey,” she said, wandering over. "Is, um, is everything okay?”

Sabrina ran her finger along the rim of her glass and nodded, her eyes focused on the table in front of her.

“Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, everything’s great.”

Chloé crossed her arms and glared. “Bull. What’s going on. Tell me, Sabrina. Right now.”

Sabrina pushed the table in front of her and scooted back before standing. Abruptly, she started walking towards the bathroom.

“Sabrina?” Chloé asked. “Hey, Sabrina! I’m talking to you!”

“You’re not in charge of me, Chloé!” Sabrina snapped.

Chloé froze, her eyes wide. “Hey, um, I just… Are you okay?”

Sabrina stormed off to the bathroom without responding.

Chloé was left hugging herself and staring after her. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh as she mentally put the pieces together.

She’d seen Sabrina like this before.

“Pollen,” Chloé said. The small yellow kwami zipped out of her purse.

“My queen?”

Chloé nodded to the bathrooms. “Go keep an eye on Sabrina for me, okay? Just… Just let me know if she needs help.”

Pollen nodded and smiled. “As you command,” she said before zipping off.

“Roger you idiot,” Chloé muttered to herself. “What did you do to her this time?”


	3. Time To Say Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to rise and shine! Also, Caline has a heart-to-heart with someone close to her.

Six in the morning.

Chloé had burst in with a clipboard in hand at six in the morning.

Caline had destroyed people for less.

“Gooood morning!” Chloé called out. Caline shuffled deeper into her comforter. She reached out and patted the spot next to her, but it was empty.

“What’s going on? Caline slurred. “Where’s André?”

“I sent him packing to a separate suite,” Chloé said. “Can’t have him seeing the bride before the wedding, now can we?”

Caline made a gurgling noise.

“Right,” Chloé said. “Breakfast is in one hour. I’ve already prepared your shower and laid out some comfortable clothes, so enjoy! We’ve got a full day today!”

“Chloé?” Caline grumbled. She poked head poked up from the comforter, not unlike a shabby-looking prairie dog. “Why are you doing this? Did I wrong you?”

“Come on,” Chloé said, grinning. She yanked the comforter away from Caline, who cried out in annoyance. “The day is going to get away from us if we don’t get started, and you’ve got a lot to do before you tie the knot. Now, get in that shower!”

Caline groped for a pillow to throw at Chloé, but the perky blonde was already gone.

“Dammit,” Caline said. She looked towards the suite’s bathroom and noted that steam was pouring out the crack at the bottom of the door. “Huh. Okay then,” she grumbled as she crawled out of bed and scratched herself.

“How can she be so chipper and not be hung over?” Caline asked herself as she slumped off her pajamas and opened the bathroom door.

A wall of steam hit her in the face.

Caline opened her mouth a few times to get her jaw working properly and yawned. “Right. Shower should be this way.”

***

Roughly an hour later, Caline joined Chloé on the balcony for a massive breakfast spread. Chloé was enjoying a fruit plate and yelling into her phone between bites.

“I don’t care how much it costs!” She snapped. “The full treatment, Maurice. Yes, with facials! Honestly, you’re being ridiculous! UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!” She paused. “Yes, yes, by card. Add a 20% tip. I want her shoulders to be butter by the time they’re done with her.”

Caline watched, equal parts impressed and unsettled, as Chloé rattled off André’s credit card number from memory. Satisfied, Chloé turned off her phone and waved to Caline.

“Hey!” Chloé said. “Eat up! I have all your favorites!”

Caline, dressed in her comfy sweats, sat down and took a drink of juice. “Wow, kiddo. This is, um, this is a lot of food. Thank you?”

Chloé beamed. “You need to stay healthy and hydrated for the baby. I read it online.”

“This is true,” Caline said as she took a bite of melon. “Is there coffee?”

“Half-calf for you,” Chloé said. She handed Caline a mug that read _My Ranch, My Rules_.

Caline sighed. “You’re really taking your role as big sister seriously, aren’t you?”

Chloé nodded, her eyes on her phone. “That kid is getting all the attention in the world.” She glanced to Caline. “You don’t need to worry; you’re not getting two of me.”

“I would be thrilled if this one turned out half as good as you,” Caline said.

Chloé snorted. “You know what I mean. The only good female role model I had growing up was Aunt Emilie, and that was…” Chloé looked off to the side. “This kid is growing up knowing they’re loved.”

Caline reached out and squeezed Chloé’s arm. “You’re gonna be a helluva mom someday, just so you know.”

Chloé cleared her throat and put her phone down. “Hey, you need to eat up. We’ve got appointments to get to and I don’t like to be late.”

“So, um, you do know we don’t have to be dressed and ready until five, right?”

“That’s going to be here before we know it,” Chloé said. “You and I are going to have a day. As soon as we’re done here, we’re getting full massages, facials, mani-pedis, and of course we’re doing your hair. You can’t get married looking like, um…” She saw the look on Caline’s face. “Sorry.”

“Sweetie?” Caline asked. “Are you, well, are you okay? You seem a little manic.”

Chloé nodded. “I’m fine. Today is going to be perfect. Absolutely perfect!” Her phone rang, and Chloé answered it in a heartbeat. “Speak. Oh, it’s you. No, no she is not going to come over for a last-minute alteration. We’re spending the day getting her ready and… I don’t care what the hem looks like! No one will! She’s going to look like an angel! I don’t know, just…” Chloé let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re the award-winning designer, _you_ figure it out!”

Chloé tossed her phone on the table and huffed. She glanced at Caline. “So, Marinette says hi.”

Caline flashed a hesitant smile. “Um, dear? You’re very, um, wound tight. You know that, right?”

Chloé took a rather aggressive bite out of a croissant and growled. “Of course I do,” she said between bites. “I’ve been up since four getting things ready for today.”

Caline suddenly realized what was different. Chloé was organized, checking things, going over schedules… Alone.

“You’re not used to doing all this without help, are you?” Caline mused.

“Sabrina needs to sleep,” Chloé said, her focus back on her phone. “She drank too much last night and, um, she had a fight with her dad. Not in that order.”

“She got into it with Roger again?”

Chloé growled under her breath. “He’s a moron. He keeps refusing to see her as anything more than a little kid.”

“She _is_ his kid,” Caline pointed out. “It’s what parents do, or so I’ve heard.”

“You know what I mean. One day, he’s going to push her too far and she’s not going to come back.” Chloé sent a text with a bit more energy than required. “And that day can’t come soon enough, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Roger is… I don’t think he’s ever gotten over his wife’s death,” Caline said as she took a bite of bacon. “He’s scared, Chloé. He doesn’t want anything else to change and he’s desperate to keep things under control.”

“And that’s why he’s going to end up pushing her away,” Chloé snapped. “It’s so not fair to her. She deserves to feel, I dunno, accepted? It’s…”

“Ridiculous?”

“…Utterly ridiculous.”

“And being hung over doesn’t help with attitudes,” Caline said. “I really wish you hadn’t switched out the drinks at the party,” Caline said, her voice slightly edgy. “Seriously sweetie, you could have gotten me and your dad in a lot of trouble with that stunt.”

“And yet, here we are.”

Caline sighed. “Here we are. So, Sabrina is hung over,” Caline blinked. “And you’re not from last night?”

Chloé shot Caline a look. “I am running on a mixture of juice, bacon, a raw egg smoothie, and Pure Bitch Energy™. Nothing is derailing today. If Hawkmoth rears his head, I swear I’ll rip the akuma in two myself.”

“Pure… What?”

Chloé shrugged. “I got _something_ useful from my mother.”

Caline flashed her a nervous smile. “Ooooookay then. So… What _did_ you have in mind for today?”

Chloé grinned.

***

It had been a perfect day.

It was just lasting _forever_ , is all.

Caline Bustier plopped down in a small, stuffy changing room nestled within the Musee Rodin and glanced at her reflection in her vanity mirror. She took deep, even breaths, nodding as she composed herself.

“I do look good,” she mused. Even slouching in a chair, the wedding dress hugged her form well. The gown did that miraculous thing where the fabric folds managed to teleport about ten pounds into the neither regions of her upper rib cage.

Of course, considering the designer, Caline wasn’t surprised.

When André had announced their engagement, a slew of offers had come forward to do the dress. André had instantly taken Gabriel Agreste up on the tuxedo, but Caline had turned him down and instead opted for a certain local, up-and-coming designer.

More to the point, she had shown up at the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, hired them to cater, and then begged Marinette to take on the biggest commission project of her life. Of course, Marinette said yes. Three weeks later, Caline had a dress that was being featured in no less than a dozen fashion articles.

But, I digress.

It was the first time all day that she had been alone. Since the crack of dawn, she had been going about 100 kilometers an hour and finally, _finally_ , she had a moment to herself.

“Ya okay there, Caline?”

Well, _almost_ to herself.

Caline smiled at Ziggy, who was floating in front of her. The goat kwami was looking her over and whistling. “Wow whee! You sure do clean up right nice, ma’am. I dare say, that’s the prettiest weddin’ dress I ever did see.”

“Thanks, Ziggy,” Caline said. She scratched the kwami behind her ear, which resulted in his eyes rolling back and his left leg spasming in midair. “I do look good, don’t I?”

Caline stopped so he could respond. “Ya sure do. Say, why ya lookin’ all sad? Are… Are ya havin’ second thoughts?”

Caline blinked. “What? No! Ziggy, I’m not sad, I’m exhausted! Chloé has been running me into the ground today and I just needed five minutes to catch my breath. I swear, it’s like she was possessed by a cruise activity director.”

Ziggy nodded. “I can see that. She’s really rearin’ ta get this shindig goin’, ain’t she?”

Caline smiled at her tiny companion. “She really is. I’m excited, but I haven’t really had a moment to myself yet, and I just needed to breathe.”

Ziggy nodded in understanding. “Is it kinda like when I keep tellin’ ya about the plot of _Heartland_ when yer tryin’ ta get some shut eye?”

Caline eyed the kwami. “Yes, it is exactly like that. Um, hey.” Caline straightened up. “While we’ve got a second to ourselves, um, I also needed to talk to you about something. It’s kind of important.”

Ziggy rolled in the air and laid facing her with his hands on his chin. “Go on. I’m all ears.”

Caline bit her lip and gathered her thoughts. “Okay. So, as you’ve noticed, I’m pregnant.”

Ziggy nodded. “I have indeed noticed, yes ma’am.”

“Okay,” Caline said. “So, I… I can’t wield you while I’m, um, like this.”

Ziggy stared. “Like what?”

Caline gestured to her belly. “Like this!”

“Ya mean in a weddin’ dress? Aw shucks! The magic makes all that go away. You know that!”

“Ziggy,” Caline said with a long sigh. “I need to step down as your holder.”

Ziggy’s eyes widened as he drooped in midair. “Ya mean… Yer givin’ me back?”

Caline nodded. “Yes, Ziggy. I am.”

“But…” Ziggy’s lip started to tremble. “But what if somethin’ happens? What if ya need help, or, or what if the whole weddin’ goes up in flames?”

Caline rolled her eyes. “I really don’t think that’ll be an issue. Look, every hero in Paris is going to be there…”

“Y’all said _that_ one before.”

“…And I hardly see everything going so bad with so many miraculous users here that a pregnant lady would have to step in.”

“…Is it because I’m not good?”

Caline saw the look on Ziggy’s face. She gently scooped up the kwami and held him, hugging him as best she could. “You’re just fine, Ziggy. You’re… Okay, you’re different, but you’re not bad. I’ve been honored to have you, but it’s not safe for me to run around playing hero with a baby in my stomach. I can’t do it.”

Ziggy hugged her back and sniffed. “I know, I just, I reckoned you’d keep me in a drawer or somethin’ until she was born an then we’d get ta play again an… I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” Caline said, still holding the dejected kwami in her hands. “That wouldn’t be fair to you now, would it? Not when there’s someone else out there who I’m sure will want you just as much as I did.”

“Ya’ll didn’t want me at all, remember?”

Caline sniffed and shook her head. “Yeah, well, I was wrong, okay? You’re… You’re a fine kwami, Ziggy. One of the best.”

“Better than Tikki?”

Caline stared for a moment. “Better than Plagg. How’s that?”

Ziggy’s grin widened. “I’ll take it! And… Thank you for tellin’ me, first. Y’all don’t know how much of a courtesy that there is.”

Caline nodded and reached for her barrettes, and then paused. “Wait, did you say, ‘she’?”

Ziggy nodded. “I took a peek. Hope ya don’t mind.” Ziggy fiddled with his hands. “She’s right pretty, she is. Looks good an all. Said she’s lookin’ forward ta meetin’ ya.”

Caline’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. “How… How would you know that?”

Ziggy blushed. “Well shucks, ma’am. Us kwami’s can speak every language. Baby ain’t all that hard, ya know. She likes yer voice when ya sing to her at night. Says its real pretty.” He looked at her shocked expression. “Um, did I, was I not supposed ta… I’m sorry, ma’am.”

Caline felt her eyes tearing up. “No,” she said, her voice cracking. She wiped her eyes and sniffed. “No, that’s… Thank you so much. I’m sorry I yelled at you for eating all my pizzas.”

“An’ I’m sorry I used yer credit card ta order all that hay.”

Caline’s eye twitched, but she kept her smile. She kissed Ziggy on the forehead. “You take care now, ya hear?” Caline said, grinning.

Ziggy’s eyes went wide. He grinned and gave Caline a small bow. “It’s been the highest honor servin’ you. Happy trails, Caline.”

“Happy trails, Ziggy,” Caline said as she reached up and removed the turquoise barrettes from her hair. The moment she did, Ziggy faded away. Caline gently placed the barrettes, now back to being black and white, in a small box on the vanity counter.

With a long, loud sigh, she shut the box lid and closed her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorryjustanotherperson drew a page from What To Do When Your Superhero Has The Flu and posted it as a web comic, and I was massively motivated, so three chapters are coming out in a 24 hour period.
> 
> Also, it looks fantastic so far.
> 
> Here, take a look:
> 
> https://justanotherpersonsuniverse.tumblr.com/post/628380690587779072/mamabug-part-1)


	4. The Most Important Part of the Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls get ready, and Caline talks with Sabrina and Chloé.

Silence.

The room was blessedly, completely quiet.

“I don’t believe it. I am finally, FINALLY alone.”

Caline breathed in, enjoying the moment.

“There you are!” A voice cried out behind her.

And with that, the moment passed.

Caline let out a small whimper, but then put her best grin and turned to see her soon-to-be stepdaughter standing behind her. As Chloé let out an exasperated huff, a horde of bridesmaids poured in after her, each checking their outfits, hair, and makeup at the numerous vanity stations in the green room.

“Hi dear,” Caline said. Chloé winced at the tiredness in Caline’s voice, which made Caline instantly feel terrible.

“I am so sorry!” Chloé suddenly blurted. “Do you need more time? A nap? I can stall for you. Ooo! I can throw a tantrum. The guests would believe that. How much time do you need?”

Caline shook her head. “No, I’m good. Thank you, though. The thought is appreciated. I’m just… Today is a lot.”

Chloé strutted to Caline and grabbed a chair from a side-table. She rolled it around and sat down in front of the older woman. “Are you having second thoughts? I told daddy this was too fast. Is it the baby? Oh… Oh God, did I do something?”

“No!” Caline snapped. She was harsher than she had meant to be, but that might have been because Master Planner Chloé had forgotten about scheduling a good lunch. For the last three hours, Caline had been running on a combination of adrenaline, a soft pretzel, some cold nacho cheese, and a lot of Diet Coke.

Like, seriously. A LOT. She’s gone to the restroom four times in the last two hours. She needs to stop.

“Look, it’s just…” Caline looked around the busy room. “This is a day I’ve thought about my whole life, and to finally be living it is a bit overwhelming, that’s all. I never imagined that I’d end up married to the mayor of Paris, or that my bridesmaids would be my students. Speaking of which… Marinette?”

“Present!” Marinette quickly hustled over and stood beside Chloé, who in turn scooted slightly away from the excited youth.

“Got something for you.” Caline smiled at her and handed her to box containing the miraculous. “Someday, I may want that back, but for now?” She patted her belly. “I think it’s for the best if I were benched.”

Marinette’s grin was unwavering, but her eyes were wide with panic. She glanced from Caline to Chloé and then back to Caline. “Um, right. Thank you? And, um…Whaaaaaaaat are you talking about?”

Caline patted the box in Marinette’s hands. “Nothing dear,” she said. “Wedding day nonsense.”

Marinette, still grinning like a madwoman, nodded and booked it to her vanity. Sabine was there working on her own dress and instantly started fussing over Marinette the second she came within grabbing distance. Caline and Chloé watched her go.

“She doesn’t know you know, does she?” Caline asked.

“Nope,” Chloé said, smirking. “And I’m loving every minute of it.”

While she had been forced to grow a lot in the last two months in terms of meeting new people, the one thing that brought Caline’s social life into stark focus was picking bridesmaids.

André had the Prime Minister standing as a groomsman. Jagged Stone was his best man. Everyone on André’s side of the isle had a larger bank account than Caline could calculate, and she taught high school math.

Meanwhile, Sabine was serving as her Maid of Honor, she was being given away by her boss, and her students were her bridesmaids.

That was it.

Caline needs friends.

Chloé looked around the room. Everyone, herself included, was in an aquamarine dress with a matching sash. Marinette had done the dresses per Caline’s instruction, and Chloé had to admit that color choice aside, they were outstanding.

“Did someone do something to piss you off?” Chloé growled under her breath. “Was it Ziggy? Was it Dupain-Cheng? Oh! Was she giving you grief about the zipper on your dress again?”

“Chloé,” Caline said in her warning tone. “Calm the Hell down. Marinette is a Disney princess brought to life and you know it. And she can harp about the zipper if she wants to. She designed my dress for crying out loud.”

Chloé eyed the dress for what felt like the hundredth time. Grudgingly, she had to admit that it was pretty awesome. Simple and elegant, with a lovely lace pattern running along the side that bled into the train. The front had an uneven cascading silk ruffle design that was supposed to be water flowing in a brook. Despite how insane Marinette had sounded when she was describing it, even Chloé had to admit that it worked.

And then there was the train.

Chloé didn’t know how Marinette had managed to subtly weave in silhouettes of the different miraculous that Caline had wielded, and honestly you had to squint to see it, but they were there, and Chloé secretly acknowledged they looked incredible.

“Humph. Stupid, perfect, gorgeous hero with her stupid talent and stupid beautiful blue eyes,” Chloé grumbled. She snapped out of it and frantically looked around to make sure Sabrina wasn’t around her. She glanced to Caline. “I didn’t say that.”

Caline chose to ignore the statement. “Everyone has been wonderful. I just… You’ve kind of run me into the ground today, kiddo.”

Chloé looked back to Caline and blushed from embarrassment. “Oh. Um, sorry about that.”

“Seriously,” Caline said. “After last night, how do you have any energy left at all?”

“This is what I do,” Chloé said. She picked up a large triple expresso on the table next to them and, to Caline’s horror, spent twenty seconds drinking the entire thing in one chug. She slammed the cup down and crumpled it as her eyes blazed with caffeinated fury.

“Besides,” Chloé stopped to let out a massive burp. “Last night wasn’t so bad.”

Caline raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Chloé asked, slightly louder than she meant to. “Someone had to take the lead, and since your Maid of Honor couldn’t go, it fell to me.”

“She opens their bakery at four in the morning and she was prepping the food for today. I tried asking her to go and she declined. Also,” Caline raised an eyebrow. “Um, were we at different parties?”

Chloé shrugged. “Well, _I_ had fun.”

Caline sighed at the memory of Chat Noir looking terrified in front of a group of thirsty and possibly inebriated young women. ‘ _Poor kid_ ,’ she thought. _‘Least he was a gentleman about it_.’ She looked around the room at the clearly hung-over girls around her and shook her head. ‘ _Well, I hope they learned a lesson_.’

“Hey, you just leave the rest of today to me, alright? You just look good and nail those vows. I’ve got your back.” Chloé winked and patted Caline’s leg. Before Caline could say anything more, Chloé pushed her chair back to its table and marched to the center of the room. “Alright people, we’ve got thirty minutes before we hit the aisle!” Chloé stood tall with her hands on her hips and a fire in her eyes. To Caline’s surprise, beside Chloé, also in a dress, appeared an exhausted-looking Sabrina. She had a clipboard in her hands and her cell phone out to handle anything that came up, and by God, things were coming up.

“Give me a catering status!” Chloé snapped. “Are they still set with the ice sculptures?”

“Everything is fine,” Sabine called out from her vanity. “My husband is setting everything up with the staff. Just like he was five minutes ago.”

“Excellent.” Chloé glanced at Sabrina. “Tell the photographers to get some good shots of the guests being seated. I want some drone footage for the home videos and for my blog. Make sure the fountain is prepped for the after-nuptial photos. No paparazzi until after the reception. Double security at the service entrances.”

She glanced at Caline’s hair.

“Where’s that hair stylist? Cindi? CINDI!”

A small, mousey woman in curls came rushing up. “Ye, yes, Ms. Bourgeois?”

Chloé looked at Caline and was about to say something, but Sabrina gave her a small nudge. Chloé froze, nodded to herself, and turned back to the frightened employee. “Cindi, you…” Chloé took a breath. “You did a fantastic job. She looks amazing. Simply amazing! Please feel free to stay for the reception.”

Cindi blinked in shock before nodding. “Ye, yes, Ma’am! Thank you!”

Chloé made a -ttt- sound and waved her hand. “That will be all. Just stay nearby in case of an emergency.”

Cindi nodded as she scurried away.

Caline offered Chloé a small smile. “That was unexpected. I was waiting for you to take the poor girl’s head off for something.”

Chloé deflated a bit as she looked off to the side. “I just… Sabrina has been reminding me not to go full-mom.” Chloé’s eyes widened as she looked back to Caline. “I mean, not, um, not like you, I mean…” She put her hand to her eyes. “Dammit.”

“I get it,” Caline said. She reached out and gave Chloé’s hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to justify anything, you know. She’s still your mom.”

“Only biologically,” Chloé spat. “Today is about you, and I’m gonna do my best to make sure that you get the wedding you deserve. Today has to be perfect, and I won’t settle for anything less.” Her head snapped around. “The music. I haven’t double-checked the reception songs. WHERE’S NINO? NINO! **NINO!** ”

Caline and Sabrina watched as Chloé marched off.

“She is fired up,” Caline said.

“You have no idea,” Sabrina sighed.

“Hey, you okay, kiddo? She’s running you into the ground pretty hard.”

“I’m good,” Sabrina smiled back, clearly exhausted. “It’s just so great to see Chloé this animated. She’s really something when she’s like this.”

Caline noticed the blush on the strawberry blonde’s cheeks. “So, how _are_ things between the two of you? I noticed you hitting the not-at-all-alcoholic drinks pretty hard last night, and um, Chloé told me you had… Something happen ahead of time? Everything okay?”

Sabrina’s smile cracked a bit. “Um, we’re good, thank you. Yeah, just, um, had a conversation with my dad. Again. And, um,” She adjusted her glasses and shuffled a bit. “Yeah. Chloé and I are good. She talked to me out in the hall.” Sabrina blushed coughed as she looked off to the side. “I kinda snapped at her last night and, um, we needed to clear the air. Um, is that…” She gave Caline a fearful look. “Is that okay with you?”

Caline stood and pulled Sabrina into a hug. “ _You_ have no idea. You’ve been such a good influence on her, and she cares a lot about you.”

Sabrina let out a small laugh and hugged Caline back. “You’re… Chloé said that you were okay with things, but um, I didn’t, we’ve never really talked, I mean, you and me, about that? And, um, she can be very, um, assuming?”

“Sabrina? You’re important to her, and she cares a lot about you.”

Sabrina stiffened in Caline’s arms. “Um, to be sure, because, um, I don’t want to, you know she, um… She asked me to the… We’re…”

Caline gave her a tight squeeze. “I know, and I’m fine with it. My girl’s got good taste. Just let her have a dance with her dad is all I’m asking.”

Caline felt every muscle in Sabrina’s body relax at once. In a quiet, trembling voice, Sabrina said, “Thank you so much.”

“Of course!” Caline said. “Did you think I wouldn’t be okay with the two of you?”

Sabina nodded against Caline’s shoulder.

Caline paused. “Did you really think I didn’t know?”

Sabrina shrugged. “I just, we never talk about it and, um…”

“You spend the night at least twice a week.” She patted Sabrina’s back. “It’s a hotel. The walls are thin, dear.”

Sabrina blushed. “Oh. Um, sorry.”

“Sabrina sweetie?” Caline asked, ignoring the younger girl’s embarrassment. “How could I _not_ be okay with you? Forget that you’re wonderful, kind, and smart. She loves the Hell out of you. That’s all that matters to me.”

She felt Sabrina shudder against her. “Is everything okay?” Caline asked in a quiet voice.

“Yeah,” Sabrina said, sniffing. “Everything’s fine. Just fine. I just… It’s been a while since, um… I don’t get a lot of… This is really nice.”

Caline hugged her tighter. “Oh sweetie.” Caline closed her eyes and silently cursed Roger under her breath. “It’s okay. I just want to make sure _you’re_ doing alright today.”

Sabrina stiffened. “Why do you ask?”

Caline bit her lip, not sure how much Sabrina knew about what Caline knew, and she didn’t want to get Chloé in trouble.

“I’m just concerned about, um… Chloé not bossing you around _too_ much, is she?”

Sabrina stepped back. She hugged herself and looked off to the side, blushing. “No, no, not at all. We’ve set some boundaries? And, um… I’m good with it.”

“You know that after today I’m officially her mom, right?” Caline asked. “I’m serious. I know in the past she was a bit demanding. If she’s getting on you too much, you let me know and I’ll talk to her. I can…”

Sabrina reached out and took Caline’s hands. Blushing heavily, Sabrina shook her head. “No, seriously. It’s um, it’s how we… Really. I’m good with it.”

Caline saw the look on Sabrina’s face and blushed a bit as a lightbulb flickered on for her. “ **Oh**. Well then, as long as _you’re_ okay with it, I suppose.” Caline held Sabrina’s hands and looked her in the eye. “My only concern is that you’re _both_ happy.”

Sabrina sniffed and quickly wiped her face. “Thank you, Ms. Bustier. It’s, um,” she looked away. “It’s nice to hear that from a, from, from someone.”

Caline eyed the girl for a moment. Since she had first met Roger, she’d had suspicions about Sabrina’s homelife. Some were based on what Chloé had told her, while others were what she had gleaned from parent-teacher conferences. From what Chloé had told her in several rage-fuled rants, Caline was pretty certain that Sabrina’s dad was refusing to see Chloé as anything other than a friend for his daughter.

“SABRINA!” Chloé snapped.

Sabrina jumped and gave a small “eep!” She turned to see Chloé marching up to her.

“Have you seen the… Are you alright?” Chloé stopped cold the second she saw Sabrina’s face.

Sabrina wiped her eyes again and nodded. “I’m fine,” she said.

Chloé eyed her for a minute. Her face softened and she bit her lip in concern before grabbing a tissue from a box on a side table. She dabbed at Sabrina’s cheeks for a second and muttered, “I haven’t given you any time today, have I? And after how I behaved last night… Sorry. I’ve been a shit friend.”

“You’re fine,” Sabrina said. She took Chloé’s hand in hers. “You’ve been in your element. I’m just happy to help.”

“You _always_ help,” Chloé mumbled. She ran her thumb along Sabrina’s cheek and looked her in the eye. “And I never say thank you.”

Sabrina put her hand over Chloé’s. “You don’t have to.”

“Maybe I want to?” Chloé gave her a little smile and pulled Sabrina’s hand to her mouth. She gave it a quick kiss.

Sabrina lit up like a Christmas tree.

Chloé smiled and then glanced to Caline. “You,” she said. “Are _you_ okay? All ready to go? The music has been fixed, by the way. I gave Nino my playlist. His was, well, it was very Nino.”

“What was wrong with his music?” Alya called out. She was beside Marinette and primping her hair at a vanity. Behind her, Rose and Juleka were rather forcefully cramming Alix into a dress.

“I did this last night! Back off, I did my time!” Alix growled. “Just let me wear a tux!”

“Come on, Alix. It’s not so bad,” Juleka pleaded.

“You guys never said I had to do this twice!”

Rose, having lost all patience, grabbed Alix and yanked her forward to within an inch of her face. “Listen. I think who you are is great. Normally, I respect your choices in clothing. However. Today isn’t about you. Today is about the woman who keeps us all sane and loves us to death. Today is also about a set of dresses our dear friend spent 72 straight hours putting together. So. You will get in that dress, and you will stand for our teacher, or so help me I will reach down your throat and RIP YOUR SPINE OUT THROUGH YOUR MOUTH!”

The room paused.

“…Fine, whatever,” Alix muttered as she scooted into her dress.

“She can wear a tux if she wants to? I really don’t mind…” Marinette said in a meek voice.

Alix shrugged. “Meh. Your dress is fine, Mars. I’m just a pants person. And a not dress person.”

“You don’t mind for today?” Marinette asked. “Because I saw a sewing kit in the other room and I brought some fabric, and I think I could whip something up in the next 20 minutes if you…”

“Dude,” Alix said, smiling. “You’re the best, Mars. Now help me zip up this fucking thing.”

Rose nodded and helped her with the dress.

“Now, sit!” Rose commanded. “We’re doing makeup.”

Alix’s eyes went wide. “Waaaaaiiiit. I never said…”

**“WE ARE DOING MAKEUP.”**

Alix saw the look on Rose’s face and let out a defeated sigh. Rose patted her on the leg and hummed to herself. “Relax, it’s me. You won’t look like a clown.”

Alix whimpered. “Do I have to?”

Rose held up a compact and pointed. “Well no, but that zit is gonna look _fantastic_ in the photos.”

Alix stared.

“Damn you. Just get this over with.”

Smiling, the blonde started applying rouge to Alix’s face.

Beside them, Juleka blushed. “I, um, I think I need some help with my dress, too.”

Rose smirked and kept her eyes on Alix’s face. “Later.”

Chloé blinked and looked back to Alya. “His music is… Look. This is a wedding, not a rave,” she snapped. She turned back to Caline. “Sorry. Do you need a drink? Time to review your vows? Do you need to pee again? HEY, SOMEONE HELP THE BRIDE PEE!”

“Chloé?” Caline asked.

“DUPAIN-CHENG, HOW DO YOU UNZIP THIS DRESS AGAIN?”

“Chloé?” Caline asked again.

Marinette scrambled over. Her hair was teased up into a messy bun with light curls framing her face. They were meant to look elegant, but as she ran, they were comically bobbing up and down. “Don’t use the side zipper! DON’T USE THE SIDE ZIPPER!”

“CHLOÉ!” Caline snapped.

Chloé looked to Caline and nodded. “You’ll be peeing in thirty seconds. Promise.”

“Okay, that’s it,” Caline said. “Everyone? Time out. Chloé and I need a minute.”

Chloé started to sputter, but Caline took her by the shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Sweetie, look. You’re fine, I promise I’m not getting cold feet, I love you and your father, I don’t need to pee… Okay, now that we’ve been talking about it I suddenly do need to pee but it’s cool and I know what zipper to use, and today is going to be just fine. Right now, I think _you_ need to cool down.”

“But, but I need to…” Chloé started. “I _need_ to make today perfect. Please just let me do this for you.”

Caline put her finger to Chloé’s lips. “Chloé, today _is_ perfect, but for God’s sake, give me a minute to get myself together. Today I’m doing the most important thing I’ve ever done and I need to focus a bit. Also, you’re ready to pop.”

Chloé nodded. “Today isn’t about me. I… God, did I just _say_ that? Ugh. I get it. He’s the mayor, and this is a big event, and…”

Caline laughed and shook her head. “That’s not quite what I meant.”

She turned to the small vanity behind her and opened a drawer. Smiling, Caline took out an envelope and turned to hand it to Chloé.

“Okay, so I was going to give you this at the reception, but I think you need a minute to focus on something other than the wedding. I need you to read this over and let me know what you think.”

Chloé nodded. “Read something. Got it.” She looked at the envelope. “Um, what is it?”

Caline gave Chloé a nervous smile. “Well, open it and see?”

Chloé slid the envelope open and took out several documents. “What’s all this?”

Caline said nothing as Chloé looked over the papers. Sabrina glanced over Chloé’s shoulder at them, her eyes wide as saucers as she speed-read. Instantly, she turned to the room and barked, “EVERYBODY OUT!”

The room froze, the flurry of activity crashing to a halt. Sabrina quickly shooed all of them out of the room before following. She made sure to close the door behind her, leaving the two women alone.

Chloé had vaguely registered the activity behind her, but her attention was solidly focused on the papers in her hand. She started to tremble as tears began rolling down her cheeks. They fell and left small, discolored spots on the paperwork.

Caline bit her lip as she heard Chloé’s breathing start to hitch.

“Is this…”

Chloé swallowed down the lump in her throat as she looked to Caline.

“Is this real?” Chloé whispered.

Caline nodded. “I wanted to wait until after the ceremony to give you those, but I suck at keeping secrets. And I just… I needed you to know why this day was _really_ important to me.”

Chloé felt a sob hiccup out of her. Her whole body was starting to shake.

Caline crossed her arms and nervously bit her finger in anticipation. “I know it’s a lot, but I know you’ve been worried that this was going to fall apart, or that I’d get cold feet or, I don’t know, that anything might derail today. I wanted to let you know that no matter _what_ , this is what I wanted, and, well…”

Chloé collapsed, openly sobbing. Caline caught her in her arms and held her tight. “Hey, hey it’s okay,” Caline cooed. Chloé wrapped her arms tightly around Caline and held her like she was going to vanish. She tried to speak, but her words came out in choked gasps. Caline just stroked her hair and kissed the side of her head.

“So, I’m guessing you’re okay with it?” Caline asked, her voice somewhere between laughing and crying. “Because I won’t do it if you’re not okay with it.”

Chloé let out an even louder choked sob as she clutched Caline to her. “Ye… Yes! Yes!”

Caline felt tears start to flow down her cheeks as Chloé continued to cry into her dress. “You know what this means?” She asked.

Chloé nodded and loudly sniffed. “This… This is all I wanted! This is all I _ever_ wanted! You’re sure? You’re really sure?”

Caline nodded. She gently pushed Chloé back so she could look the teen in the eye. “I’m sure.”

Chloé stepped back and let out something between a laugh, a sob, and a hiccup. She wiped her face off frantically. “I messed up your dress,” she said. “I’m so sorry! I can fix this, I…”

“Stop,” Caline said. “It’s okay. It’s just a dress.” She pointed at the papers that were clutched tightly in Chloé’s hand. “If you’re honestly okay, then you’ll need to sign those sometime today.”

Chloé nodded and dug into her pockets, looking for a pen. She yanked one out and swept a makeup tray off a counter before flattening the papers out to sign.

Caline cringed. “I know you’re rich dear, but that was probably a thousand dollars’ worth of makeup.”

“Screw it,” Chloé said, smiling. She turned to Caline. “This is worth more. Um, do you need to sign?”

Caline grinned and shook her head. “I already did this morning.”

Chloé did her best to hold her hand steady as she scribbled her name at the bottom of the documents.

“So… That’s it? It’s official?”

Caline nodded. “That’s it. We just need to drop those by the courthouse.”

Caline gave Chloé the biggest smile she could muster. When she spoke, her voice cracked.

“You are now, _officially_ , my adopted daughter.”

Chloé stumbled a bit as the words washed over her “You’re my mom,” she said in a quiet voice. “You’re not my stepmom or… You’re really my mom now? Forever?”

Caline nodded, her own tears starting to stream down her cheeks. “I’m your mom. Forever.”

They hugged again as Chloé felt herself starting to laugh. Caline, now sniffling, joined her.

Eventually, Chloé pulled back and frowned “But, what about the wedding? I mean, isn’t that, um, you haven’t… What if…”

Caline put her hands on Chloé’s shoulders. “The wedding is my commitment to your father. This right here is my commitment to _you_. I’m all-in, kiddo. I wanted you to know that.”

She hugged Chloé yet again and felt her new daughter tremble in her arms. “I love you so damn much,” Caline said. “I’m so proud of who you’ve grown into, and I’m so lucky you’ve let me into your life. I promise to do right by you.”

“I lo... I love you, too,” Chloé sniffed. “I wou… I would do anything for you. You’re… you’re my mom.”

Caline held Chloé and smiled as the younger woman continued to murmur “you’re finally my mom,” against her shoulder.

Caline hugged her tightly, her own words dying in her throat as she heard the overwhelming emotion behind Chloé’s quiet statement.

Caline knew that the guests, the minister, and all of Paris was waiting on her, but at that moment, she didn’t care.

The craziness of the day could wait for one blessed second. She would be out in front of everyone soon enough, the bouquet would be tossed, pictures would be taken, food would be eaten, and she would end the day thoroughly exhausted but happy.

But right now?

Right now, Caline just wanted a moment with her daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire story was built around this one scene.


	5. Two Adorable Moments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick aside about two little things that happened.

The wedding itself was pretty standard, as far as weddings go.

Okay, it was as standard as a massive wedding on the front lawn of the Musee Rodin can be. It was still spectacular despite the chill in the air, and the early evening sunlight played well across the front of the massive building and illuminated the wedding stage wonderfully. Caline looked radiant, André cried during his vows, and Marinette managed to stay upright without tripping for the duration of the ceremony. In fact, aside from two adorable moments in particular, it was fairly cut and dry.

After taking photos and a…

Sorry? What was that?

The adorable moments?

You want to know… Yeah, sure. We’ve got time. Guess I can’t drop a hook like that and _not_ talk about it.

So, as soon as the vows were done, Caline completely derailed the ceremony in the best way possible.

“And do you, Caline Bustier, promise to love, honor, and cherish this man? To stand by his side through thin or flush? To be there in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for the rest of your life?”

Caline looked a teary André in the eye and grinned. “I do.”

“Then, by the power invested in me, I hereby…”

“Hold on a second,” Caline said. The minister nearly fell over at the interruption. Caline winked at André and gave his hand a squeeze as the crowd started to murmur.

Caline turned to the bridesmaids and stepped over to where Chloé, wide eyed, was standing.

“Come on,” Caline said as she took her hand and led her over to stand with her father.

Chloé, slightly panicked, followed. Caline stood her in front of everyone and gently took hold of her hands.

“I, Caline Bustier, promise here and now in front of pretty much all of Paris to be the best mom I can be for you. I promise to love you in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, to listen to you, to love you for who you are, and to be there for you for the rest of your life.”

Chloé started weeping and covered her mouth.

Caline opened her arms. “Come here, kiddo.”

Chloé stumbled into Caline’s arms and hugged her as she felt her father’s hand on her back.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Chloé whispered. “You already promised to be… You didn’t have to.”

“Well, this felt right, so, you know…” Caline whispered back.

Chloé sniffed. “I love you so damn much.”

“I love you too, sweetie.” Caline whispered. She kissed Chloé on the cheek.

Caline stepped back, her hands still on Chloé’s shoulders. She gently guided Chloé to stand beside her father and then looked to the minister.

“They’re a package deal,” she said to him. “She should be up here, too.”

The minister looked to André, who was beaming. He looped his arm in Chloé’s and said, “You heard the lady.”

“Um, right then.” The minister cleared his throat. “By the power invested in me, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.” He looked to André. “You may now kiss the bride.”

André kissed Caline, and then brought both her and Chloé into a hug as the crowd erupted in applause. Off to the side, the bridesmaids were all tearing up.

That was her _first_ adorable moment with her daughter at her wedding.

She had one more adorable daughter moment, but I can't tell you about it.

Hey, Caline didn't even know, alright? She only really found out about it much, much later. When she did, it was at her birthday, and she ended up hugging her daughter and crying for a solid minute. So, I can’t tell you. She doesn’t even know yet! It wouldn’t be fair to…

Seriously! I shouldn’t let you know before she knows. It would be rude!

I…

Okay, okay, fine. Geez.

Just between us, here’s what happened…

***

“And hold’a still! Ms. Caline, your man has just offered you a-ah plate of spaghetti!”

Caline grinned and wondered again why they had agreed to hire Adrien’s photographer.

The picture taking were going quickly enough. The groomsmen and bridesmaids had all been done ahead of time, but Caline wanted several shots _with_ her bridesmaids, some with Andre, a couple with her, Andre, and Chloe, and several with just her and Chloe.

They had just finished up what she thought was the last of the posing by the fountain out front, but then Vincent put his hand up.

“Wait just a moment, Ms. Caline. I want to get a shot ah with you and the flower girl.”

Caline smiled and nodded. She hadn’t really gotten to interact with a lot of the people involved with the wedding due to the, ahem, _rushed_ nature of things. Still, Caline had to admit that the girl they had gotten to be in the ceremony was as cute as a button. She wasn’t sure who she was, but Caline had been assured she was family.

Off to the side, a bubbly and nervous-looking little girl stood in a beautiful white dress. Behind her was a familiar looking red-haired young woman in a sleek tuxedo. Her collar was undone, and her bowtie was missing, but aside from that the suit looked amazing on her. Caline blinked in confusion as the young woman looked hauntingly like Alix, but much taller and at least a couple years older.

 _‘Maybe she's a cousin?’_ Caline thought to herself. She almost looked like that aunt Bun that Caline had met during parent teacher conferences, but slightly younger. _‘Huh. I didn’t know Andr_ _é was related to the Kubdels.’_

“Go on,” the woman said. She patted the little girl on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Just remember what we talked about, okay?”

The little girl nodded, her eyes never leaving Caline.

“She’s a little shy,” the older woman said, looking up at Caline. “We got involved a bit last-minute, and she was nervous about today.”

“Hi there. It’s okay,” Caline said, smiling. She knelt down. “You did so great out there today! Come here, sweetheart. Your dress looks beautiful!”

“Her aunt made it for her,” the older woman said. “It’s okay sweetie. Go on.”

The little girl nodded again and took a breath. She shuffled over to Caline.

“Hi,” she said in a small voice.

' _Oh, my God. She is adorable!_ ' Caline thought to herself. The girl's blue eyes were huge and did not leave Caline's face. Her hair was light red, and came down to her shoulders in a French braid. There was a small crown of yellow flowers woven into it.

“I love your hair,” Caline said. She glanced to the older woman and then back to the little girl. “Did your mother do that crown for you?”

The little girl shook her head. “My sister did it,” she said, her voice still small.

“What’s your name, dear?” Caline asked.

The little girl blushed and shuffled her feet. She looked back at the redhead, who nodded.

“It’s okay,” the older woman said.

The little girl looked back to Caline. “Camille.”

Caline flashed her biggest smile. “You don’t say? Well, I think that is a _very_ pretty name. That was my grandmother’s name.”

Caline looked behind her at the fountain they were posing in front of. She sat on the ledge and patted the spot next to her. “How about you sit beside me. Is that okay with you?”

The little girl nodded and scooted into place. She was a bit fidgety, but she did her best to sit still beside Caline as Vincent took several pictures. Caline even handed her bouquet to Camille for one of them.

“Wonderful, gorgeous! You two are ah beautiful! Like ah the finest pasta!” Vincent exclaimed.

“Hey kiddo,” the red-headed woman said as she checked a pocket watch. “I think we’re good now. Say goodbye, we’ve got to get going. Don’t wanna be late.”

Caline leaned in and smiled again at the little girl. “Thank you so much for being my flower girl. You did a great job, Camille.”

Camille stared at first, and then surprised Caline by launching forward into a hug. Caline, pleasantly surprised, hugged her back.

“You look really pretty,” Camille said. “You look like an angel.”

“Th… Thank you dear,” Caline said back, genuinely moved. She didn’t know why, but she felt herself tearing up a bit at how genuinely sweet Camille’s words were. Maybe it was just how familiar the little girl looked? Caline thought she could see some Chloé in her features.

 _‘Well, they must be related,’_ Caline mused.

Camille blushed and scooted off the fountain ridge. She scurried back towards the older woman, who picked her up and held her on her hip.

“Thanks for that,” the older woman said to Caline. “Her mom is gonna flip when she sees those photos.”

“Oh,” Caline said. “I thought you were her, um, I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t assume. Do you need a copy?” She glanced to Vincent.

The older woman smiled and shook her head. “Nah. I’m just an aunt. Don’t worry about the pics; I’ve got it covered. And, um, for what it’s worth? You’re gonna be a great mom, isn’t she sweetie?”

Camille blushed and buried her face in her aunt’s shoulder.

"Um, thank you?" Caline said, confused.

The redhead chuckled and looked back at Caline. “You look good, Ms. B. You take care.”

Caline blinked in confusion as the familiar-looking woman hefted Camille, who was giggling. “You did great, sweetie,” she said as they walked away. “Your mom is gonna be so stoked when she realizes what you did. Best birthday idea, ever!” She put her hand up to high five Camille.

“Thanks,” Camille said, giggling. She looked back to Caline and waved. “Bye! I love you!”

Caline waved back, slightly confused.

“Camille. What a lovely name for a little girl,” Caline said to herself.

As she stared after them, Caline started to remember something about the parent teacher conference with Alix’s aunt Bun, and the conversation she heard as they had wandered away…

But then Vincent asked for her to stand by a statue, and Chloé was yelling for her, and after a few minutes Caline let the thought slip away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was 100% fan service for everyone who has been kind enough to read my series. I also might have teared up a little when I wrote this part.
> 
> Don't worry. Next chapter, things get real.


	6. Dancing Shouldn't Be This Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The recpetion has started, and someone's had a bit much to drink.

After taking photos and a much-needed bathroom break, Caline, along with the rather large crowd of wedding guests, made their way through the museum and out back to the gardens for the reception. It was evening, and the entire area was lit by string after string of soft, yellow artificial tea lights. Their gentle glow shimmered along the marble skin of the statues that dotted the perimeter of the party. There was a dance floor laid out, also illuminated with hanging lights. Off to the side a magnificent banquet, courtesy of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, was sprawled across two long, overloaded tables.

Several couples were already making their way over to the appetizers. One adorable couple in particular stood out.

“I didn’t think your parents did full catering,” Luka asked Marinette. He was in a blue suit and getting himself a plate of mini sausages. Beside him, Marinette helped herself to a macaroon.

“They don’t. This was a special exception,” Marinette said. She was careful not to mess up the blue corsage that hung from her wrist. “These lights are beautiful, aren’t they?”

Luka glanced up at the lighting and smiled. “They are. Maybe I can do something like this on the boat?”

“Oh?” Marinette asked. She playfully nudged him. “Well if you did? I’d, um, I’d love to see it.”

Luka blushed and grinned. “Maybe later.”

A little later, Caline was having the first dance of the evening with André as the crowd watched on. Off to the side, Chloé stood looking proud. Beside her was Sabrina.

“That was really sweet of Ms. Bustier, erm, Ms. Bourg… Your mom to do up there,” Sabrina said.

“God,” Chloé said rolling her eyes. “It was so _embarrassing_! She was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! It was such a mom thing to do.”

Sabrina noticed that Chloé was grinning the entire time she was talking.

“It was,” Sabrina said with a nod. “They look happy.”

“They do, don’t they?” Chloé mused. “I don’t remember ever seeing daddy this happy before. It’s about time.”

Sabrina stiffened as she felt Chloé’s hand lace with hers. She looked around. Her father was across the dance floor watching André and Caline. He hadn’t noticed.

“Hey,” Sabrina said. “Maybe we shouldn’t, um…”

Chloé gave her a look. “What? Hold hands? Please. Rose is practically in Juleka’s lap.”

Sabrina blushed. “That’s different.”

Chloé noticed where Sabrina was looking and frowned. “You had a fight with him _again_? Seriously?”

“We spoke after the ceremony. He doesn’t get it,” Sabrina said. “He’s not trying to be mean, but he just, he doesn’t understand that…”

“Bull,” Chloé said. “He understands just fine. He just doesn’t want to admit to it.”

“Chloé,” Sabrina pleaded. “I just, he’s… He’s my dad.”

“Well then, he can act like it, can’t he?”

The dance ended. The crowd applauded and couples started to wander out onto the floor. Adrien led Kagami out to dance. She was in an ankle-length dark red dress that was somehow both modest and alluring, and she was positively glowing in his arms. Marinette meanwhile found herself slow dancing with Luka off to the side.

Sabrina suddenly felt her stomach drop as Chloé started walking out onto the dance floor. With a determined look on her face, she dragged Sabrina with her.

“What are you doing?!” Sabrina whisper-shouted.

Chloé led them to the center of the floor and turned to face her. She pulled Sabrina into her arms and put her hands on her hips. “Dancing with my date,” Chloé replied, matter-of-factly.

Sabrina went wide-eyed and started to turn towards where her father was standing, but Chloé put her hand to Sabrina’s cheek and turned her head back to face her. “So, like I said earlier. I never thanked you for your help with everything.”

Sabrina blushed and hesitantly looped her hands behind Chloé’s neck. She started to relax in her arms. “You know you don’t have to, Chloé.”

Chloé shook her head. “Yeah, I do. Thank you for everything. You’ve put up with me for far too long and been too kind to me, and I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve it.”

“You were my friend when no one else would be,” Sabrina said. “You’ve always been there for me, so I’ve always tried to be there for you.”

“Hmmm, fair.” Chloé smirked. “Sooo, what are you doing after this?”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Sabrina giggled. “How scandalous, Ms. Bourgeois.”

“Call it what you will,” Chloé said nonchalantly. Still, her cheeks were red. “Feel like getting a juice? Maybe watching a movie?”

“She’s going home. Now.”

Both girls jumped back at the loud interruption. Standing right beside them was Roger. He had a drink in his hand and was glaring at Sabrina. “I told you, but you just wouldn’t listen. You don’t know what kind of trouble you’re bringing on yourself, young lady.”

Sabrina was stunned. She had thought her dad would at least have the decency to wait to chew her out until afterwards, but here and now? In front of everyone?

Around them, dancers were glancing over.

“What is wrong with you?” Sabrina snapped back. Roger recoiled a bit, surprised by the backbone his daughter was showing. “There is nothing wrong with dancing together, daddy!”

“You think this is how I wanted my daughter to be seen? How I wanted you to turn out?” Roger yelled. “I work myself into the ground so you can go out and disgrace our family name by acting like…”

“Like what?” Chloé interjected. She stepped in front of Roger with her arms crossed. “Go ahead. Finish that sentence.”

“Chloé, step out of the way. You’ve had your fun, but Sabrina and I need to go home now,” Roger said in a low voice.

“Is there a problem?”

Roger stiffened at the sound of André’s voice behind him. André put his hand to Roger’s shoulder and said, “Roger, the girls were just dancing. Really, what seems to be the matter with that?”

Roger gaped at André. “Are you serious? You’re telling me you’re comfortable with your daughter being seen like, like…”

Caline, who was standing beside André, put her hands on her hips and broke out her best teacher voice. “Like _what_?”

Roger turned red. “Like some, some immoral tramp?”

_SMACK!_

Caline was heaving, her hand stinging from hitting the larger man so hard. Roger stepped back, shocked.

“You do _not_ get to insult my daughter on my wedding day,” Caline said in a low voice.

“You, you can’t do that!” Roger sputtered.

“Roger, go home. You’re drunk,” André said. He put his hand on Caline’s shoulder, but she shrugged it off and took a step towards Roger.

“You’re a bigot,” she hissed at him. “You’re completely out of touch with your own daughter. You’re so concerned with, with what, exactly? Who is going to care, Roger?”

“Yeah?” Rose chimed in. She had stopped dancing with Juleka but was still holding her hand. She was facing Roger and glaring. “Care to say that again to the rest of us?”

Beside her, Juleka glared. Her face was beet red, but she tightened her grip on Rose’s hand and said, “Just leave them alone, you bully!”

Rose jumped, surprised at the outburst. “You go, Jules,” she murmured.

Roger looked around, panicked. The crowd seemed to be closing in on him, which did nothing to help calm him down.

“Really André,” a voice cut in. The immediate group turned to see Nathalie Sancoeur standing with a tablet in her hand. On it was the frowning visage of Gabriel Agreste. “This is who you have representing Paris’s police department?” He made a disappointed tisking sound. “Pathetic.”

Off to the side, Kagami leaned into Adrien and whispered, “Did your iPad dad just stand up for someone?”

Adrien shrugged and smiled. “Sometimes he can actually be alright.”

Nathalie frowned at Roger before turning the tablet back to herself and drifting off.

“Sabrina, we’re leaving. Now.” Roger took Sabrina by the wrist, but she wrestled out of his grip.

“I’m not going anywhere with you! I’m done, dad. You… You don’t get to talk to me like this anymore!”

Roger was seething. “How dare you! If your mother could see you now…”

“You don’t get to use that on me!” Sabrina shouted. “It was _your_ fault!”

“Sabrina…”

“SHE DIED BECAUSED OF _YOU!”_

A quiet, uncomfortable pause followed.

Sabrina was heaving. She wiped her face and sniffed. “I am _done_ with you using her to make me behave.” She closed her eyes and fought back a sob. When she opened her eyes, the force behind her stare broke Roger’s heart.

In a small voice, Sabrina muttered, “I hate you.”

“Sabrina…” Roger said in a pleading voice. He reached out for her. “You don’t understand. She, your mom and I, we…”

“I SAID I HATE YOU!” Sabrina screamed. She turned and ran through the crowd, crying.

Chloé looked to her dad and said, “Okay, I know I told myself I wasn’t gonna abuse things anymore, but if you don’t fire that creep, I will never talk to you again.”

Before André could answer, she took off after Sabrina.


	7. Just Tossing It Out There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter where Chloé and Sabrina talk.

Chloé hunted through the gardens behind the Musee Rodin until she found Sabrina curled up on a bench, sobbing.

“Hey,” she said. Sabrina continued to quietly cry without acknowledging her.

Chloé was unphased. She sat down beside Sabrina and took her into her arms. Sabrina crumpled against her and continued to weep.

“It’s going to be okay,” Chloé said in a soft voice. She stroked Sabrina’s hair and kissed the top of her head. “I can’t believe he treated you like that.”

“He… I didn’t… Why did he have to do that?” Sabrina said between sobs. “Why can’t he just let her go? Why does he… Why doesn’t he just let me be me?”

Chloé held her tight and started to gently rock the broken girl back and forth on the bench. “Because he’s an idiot. And small. And a coward.”

Sabrina didn’t correct her.

They stayed like that for several minutes as Sabrina got the worst of it out of her system.

Chloé was the one to break the silence.

“Hey, Sabrina?”

“…Yeah?”

“I thought… Back there, you said that, um, that your mom… I thought it was an accident?”

Sabrina nodded and wiped her face again. “The night she died… The night she died, they had a fight. Dad accused her of cheating on him, and she got mad. There was a lot of yelling, I don’t remember all of it but… She, um, she ran. She was on her way to my uncle’s and… The police said she blew a tire on the RCEA.”

“Was she?” Chloé asked. “Um, cheating? I mean?” She closed her eyes. “Sorry. That’s… That’s not important. That was a bad question.”

“No, it’s okay.” Sabrina shrugged. “I don’t know. I never found out.” She sniffed. “I guess it really doesn’t matter. He pushed her away, either way. It was… It was an accident, but it was also his fault. She never would have died if he hadn’t done what he did. I’ve never forgotten that.”

“Yeah,” Chloé said. She continued to stroke her hair. “You’re right.”

Chloé closed her eyes and focused on keeping her heartrate down. She did her best to just be there and let the girl in her arms relax.

“I’m so tired,” Sabrina finally whispered.

Chloé put her head against Sabrina’s but didn’t say anything.

“I just wish… Why can’t he just accept things?”

“You mean the way you are?” Chloé asked.

“I mean _everything_ ,” Sabrina countered. “He was so jealous of mom all the time. He just couldn’t stop trying to control her, and when he couldn’t, then…”

Chloé held her tighter. “Then he turned it all on you.”

Sabrina nodded.

Chloé swallowed. “Um, hey. I know I can be bossy with you, so, like, if I ever get too, um, you know…”

Sabrina pulled back and looked up at her. “No! No, that’s… That’s different. I like, um, I, I like being that way with you. When you do it, it’s… It’s for a different reason.”

Chloé blushed. “But you’d tell me, right? If I ever went too far?”

Sabrina hugged her. “Of course I would.”

Chloé hugged her back. “Hey, um, my offer stands. You wanna stay over tonight? We can get some ice cream from the kitchen and play some video games. We could run around and play Ladybug and Cheshire? Ooo! Maybe talk smack about our respective garbage parents? Mom, heh, mom and dad will be on a flight, so…” She ran her fingers down Sabrina’s arm. “Just tossing it out there. We would have the place to ourselves…”

Sabrina looked off to the side. “I don’t, I… Chloé, he’s still my dad. I should go home.”

Chloé shook her head. “No, screw that. He’s way out of line, and I think he’s drunk, which I don’t think I’ve _ever_ seen from him, so that’s another reason to stay away.”

Sabrina gently pulled away. “Chloé, I can’t. I…”

“Hey,” Chloé cut her off. “I’m not letting you go into a bad situation alone, got it? I’ve got you covered.” She took Sabrina’s hand and kissed it. “I’ll _always_ have you covered.”

Sabrina looked into Chloé’s eyes and sniffed. “…I love you.”

Chloé’s eyes went wide, her cheeks scarlet. She opened her mouth to respond…

…But an explosion from the main building cut her off.

Both girls turned to see the structure going up in flames. Chloé jumped up and shouted, “Pollen, buzz on!”

Sabrina watched as Chloé quickly transformed. The heroine looked to Sabrina and said, “Stay here and stay safe. I need to go.”

“Chloé!” Sabrina called out, but it was too late. She was already gone.

Sabrina watched her leap towards the flames, and then, _of course_ , started running after her.


	8. A New Character Has Joined The Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sabrina finally confronts her father.

Sabrina arrived to find the reception area destroyed. The dance floor was in pieces, the garden and museum were in flames, and the few guests that hadn’t been caught in the initial blast were standing motionless. Their eyes were glowing with a faint, blueish white light.

“Oh, my God,” Sabrina whispered. She frantically looked around for her father, but she didn’t see him in the rubble. “Maybe he’s alright? Maybe he…”

Sabrina locked up when she heard her father’s voice from just inside the museum. She looked, and through the flames and rubble she saw what looked like a towering, dark blue knight with fire pouring out of the breaks in his armor. He held a gigantic flaming sword and was dueling with Queen Bee.

“Die, you little homewrecker!” The knight screamed. He brought the sword down where Chloé had been standing, but she leapt out of the way just in time. She was flinging her top at the knight, but he kept blocking her attacks. “I’ll never let you take her away!”

“Just so you know, I’m totally getting you fired after this!” Chloé yelled.

The akuma caught her top in his hand and yanked Chloé forward until she was right in front of him, causing the blonde to pale. She looked up at the knight.

“Why am I the only hero conscious when things like this happen?” She asked herself as the akuma’s fist slammed into her and sent her flying into a statue. Chloé collided shoulder-first with the marble carving, causing it to shatter as she yelped in pain. She popped up, dusted herself off, and growled.

“Ladybug owes me a Goddamn truckload of pastries for this,” Chloé said as she started spinning her top beside her and charged.

Sabrina looked on in dawning horror. “Daddy?”

Both fighters stopped when they heard Sabrina. The knight turned said in a booming voice, “It’s Hothead now, and I’ve been looking for you, Sabrina. We’re going back to our castle and you are staying in your tower where you belong!”

Chloé snickered. “God, a bit heavy on the symbolism, aren’t we?”

Hothead swung his sword with shocking speed. Chloé cried out and ducked, just barely missing being hit. Before she could recover, Hothead pointed his sword at her and a torrent of blue flame shot out. Chloé spun her top, blocking the blast as best she could.

“Sabrina, run!” Chloé screamed. “Get out of here, now!”

Sabrina stumbled backwards, not wanting to argue. She turned to run, and she made it to just behind one of the catering tables before she tripped over one of the wedding guests. She looked down to see Marinette sprawled out with a dark red gash on the side of her head. She was only somewhat conscious.

“Huwah?” Marinette slurred. She was slowly coming to.

As Sabrina scrambled past her, she bumped Marinette’s purse with her foot.

A small box fell out.

Sabrina let out a scream as a white light shot out and swirled around her. She watched as it settled in front of her, turning into a tiny, black and white, adorable monster.

“Howdy!” Ziggy chirped. He looked around. “Ha!” He slapped his knee. “Told her so.”

“You… You’re a kwami!” Sabrina said, excitedly. “Oh, my God. You’re a kwami. You can help! You’re just like Pollen, right?”

Ziggy shot Sabrina a look. “Excuse me young lady, that there is a right crude analogy. But yes ma’am, I am indeed a kwami.” He bowed in midair. “Name’s Ziggy.”

Sabrina frantically looked around and saw the black and white ram barrettes on the ground. She scooped them up and put them in her hair. The moment she did, they turned orange.

“Okay, okay. Cool. Hi Ziggy. I need your help.”

An explosion sounded just out of sight, followed by the sound of Chloé screaming. Sabrina looked over the edge of the table to see Chloé laying prone on the ground with Hothead standing over her. A large red spot was quickly growing on her side.

“Chloé!” Sabrina screamed.

Sabrina ducked back down as Hothead turned and saw her.

Sabrina’s face went pale. “We’re in trouble!”

Ziggy shot her a look. “Ya reckon?”

“Ziggy, transform me now!”

Ziggy nodded. “Right. So, the magic words to summon my powers are…”

The table they were hiding behind burst into flames as a sword sliced through it.

“ZIGGY, TRANSFORM ME _NOW!”_ Sabrina screamed.

There was a flash of light.

***

“Sabrina dear? Where are you?” Hothead cried out. He grabbed the catering table and ripped it in half, expecting to see his daughter cowering on the ground.

Instead, a black-clad fist shot forward and slammed into his face.

Hothead stumbled back, his metal helmet now bent inward. Standing in front of him was what appeared to be a new hero. Her bodysuit was simple but striking. It started white at the legs, but gradually faded to black at her thighs. She had small spots of white here and there across her torso, and a black and white mask covered her eyes. Two curled horns poked out of her hair.

Hothead shook off the hit and gaped at the new hero. “Sabrina sweetheart? Is that you?”

Sabrina assumed a defensive stance. Behind her, the wedding reception continued to burn.

“Not quite,” she said. Behind her, the DJ booth collapsed, sending up a plume of flame. The wave of heat slammed into her back and kicked up a slew of burning embers around her in a swirl of glowing orange. “Right now, I’m… I’m Saytr. And you aren’t hurting _anyone_ else!”

Sabrina reached to her waist and found a compact Shepherd’s staff waiting for her. She brought it out, expanded it, and then spun it with a practiced ease.

_‘Huh,’_ she thought to herself. _‘Four years of color guard paid off.’_

She brought her staff forward to clash with Hothead’s sword.

“You think you can disobey me? Well then little lady, you’ll fall, just like the others,” he hissed.

“I don’t think so,” Sabrina bit back. “I’m _done_ laying down.”

She brought her staff around and collided with his sword again, and the two of them were off.

Sabrina steadily met Hothead’s attacks with a series of blows. His flaming sword, while massive, couldn’t seem to make a dent in her staff. To Sabrina’s shock, she was more than strong enough to take even his toughest hits.

The more they fought, the faster Sabrina swung. Before long, the akuma went from offensive to defensive as Sabrina started walking him back. He stumbled as she cracked the side of his helmet.

“You don’t get to hurt my friends!” Sabrina blocked his sword and slammed her staff forward into Hothead’s knee, causing him to cry out.

“You don’t get to control how I feel!” Sabrina ducked a flaming sword and launched forward, shoving the flat of her palm up and into the bottom of Hothead’s helmet. The akuma rocked back and stumbled.

“I’m done being blamed for things!” Sabrina yelled. She parried a blow from Hothead and slammed her staff into his stomach, sending him staggering even further.

“I’m done being told to change who I am!” Sabrina cried out. She blocked his sword and cracked him hard against the side of the head yet again.

“You… You need to be where I can keep you safe…” Hothead sputtered.

Sabrina launched at him, screaming as she brought her staff down against his sword. The gigantic knight fell to one knee as he tried to push her blows back, but he was clearly outmatched.

Sabrina saw him drop and poured everything she had into her attack. She continued to bring her staff down again and again, tears pouring down her cheeks as she yelled at him.

“I am never!”

BAM!

“Ever!”

BAM!

“Letting you dictate!”

BAM!

“Who I am!”

BAM!

“Ever!”

BAM!

“AGAIN!”

**_KABAM!_ **

The last hit was so powerful it shattered Hothead’s sword. The knight let out a cry as Saytr’s staff crashed into his chest, slamming him into the ground. A purple butterfly flew out from the broken handle in his hand.

Hothead was sprawled out, dazed. His dented, warped helmet had slipped off and rolled away, leaving him exposed. Sabrina stomped her foot on his chest and brought her staff up above her head. She let out a rage-fueled scream, looked down…

And paused.

In that moment, she saw her father laying bruised and beaten beneath her. His now blue face was purple in spots. His lip was cracked and bleeding, and one eye was swollen shut.

Sabrina stood with her staff above her head, her breath coming in rough, desperate gasps.

“Pumpkin?” The akuma whimpered. “I’m… I’m sorry…”

Sabrina brought her staff up higher.

“Sabrina!” A voice cried out from behind her. Sabrina looked back and to her surprise, saw Ladybug. She looked like she had been hit by a truck. Sabrina noticed a massive wound on the side of her head. Hanging off her was Chloé. She had a deep gash in her side and was bleeding out. The only thing keeping her upright was the arm she had slung around Ladybug’s neck.

“Sabrina,” Ladybug begged. “It’s over. Please don’t do this. Just let me fix it.”

“I just wanted to keep you safe,” Hothead said in a quiet voice.

Sabrina glanced back to him. She felt something hot and salty in her eyes and she grit her teeth. She tightened her grip on her staff. Above her, the purple butterfly hovered.

“Sabrina!” This time, the voice was Chloé’s. “He can’t… He can’t control who you are. You’re your own person.” She stumbled, but Ladybug held her tight. “You’re better than him. Hell, you’re better… You’re better than me.”

Sabrina took a shaky breath.

“You always were,” Chloé said. “Always.”

“He isn’t going to change,” Sabrina said, her eyes shut tight. “I have to end this, now! He’ll _never_ change!”

Chloé coughed up some blood and nearly fell again, but Ladybug had her. “That doesn’t mean _you_ have to! Please. Take it from someone who knows about being torn down by a parent. This… This won’t fix things.” Chloé’s voice went soft. “Trust me.”

“Please Sabrina,” Ladybug begged. “Chloé is right. This won’t fix him, but it _will_ break you. Please don’t do this.”

Sabrina glanced back at Hothead, who was looking up at her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just didn’t want to lose you, too.”

Sabrina closed her eyes and screamed. She brought her staff down so hard it went a full foot into the ground.

Everyone was silent. The only sounds being the roaring fire around them and Sabrina’s labored breathing.

Hothead looked at the staff that was right beside his head and gulped.

Sabrina stumbled off of him and let out a guttural wail. She kicked a lawn chair, shattering it.

She stood hunched, her breathing coming in labored gasps. Her hands were curled into fists at her sides.

“I’m done now,” Sabrina said in a defeated voice. She left her staff where it was as she stumbled away.

Ladybug set Chloé down and quickly captured the akuma, which was still hovering. In a flash, she summoned her lucky charm and threw it in the air.

There was a wave of ladybugs. The fire went out. The wedding was restored. Guests suddenly found themselves standing where they had been when the reception had exploded, none the worse for wear.

Ladybug helped Queen Bee to her feet. “Are you okay, Queen Bee?”

Chloé nodded. “I’m fine, Du… Ladybug. Where’s Sabrina?”

They both looked around, but Sabrina was nowhere to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember back in chapter three when Caline was saying goodbye to Ziggy? The original line was,
> 
> “But…” Ziggy’s lip started to tremble. “But what if somethin’ happens? What if ya need help? You know how yer life is. Why if this were one o' those online stories ya like ta read, ya just know everything's gonna be on fire by chapter eight. Mark my words."
> 
> I changed it, as it felt a bit too self-aware. His reaction however, I left the same.
> 
> Also, I got some good feedback on the last couple of chapters, and a lot of What If scenarios in the comments. I loved them! They were all good. Pretend they all happened.


	9. Until the Stars Go Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloé talks to Sabrina, and does the bravest thing she possibly can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I don't normally do this, but... This chapter exploded, and it was because I found a song that fit it, and I put it on loop as I typed, which is arguably a mistake. It completely course corrected this entire chapter, but I feel it complements it nicely. So if you like, cue up the song Break In by Halestorm, featuring Amy Lee. Start playing it when Chloé cues up a song on her phone, and enjoy the chapter.

Nearly an hour later, Chloé finally found Sabrina at the far end of the garden. She was under a hedge, curled in a ball.

“Hey,” Chloé said. She stayed a fair distance away and nervously held her arm, unsure of what to do.

“Hey,” Sabrina said back.

“We need to stop bumping into each other like this,” Chloé said as casually as she could.

Sabrina just sat and sniffed.

‘ _Right_ ,’ Chloé thought. She took a deep breath. “So, um, are you hurt?”

Sabrina looked up, her eyes red from crying. “Are _you_? I saw that wound. He, um, he really got you good, didn’t he?”

Chloé shrugged. “Eh. Ladybug fixed me up. She always does.” Chloé took a hesitant step towards her. “I’m more concerned about you. Um, did… Are you… Dammit.” Chloé sighed. “I am _not_ good at this. Are you okay, Sabrina?”

Sabrina shook her head. “I’m pretty far from okay right now, but, um, I will be? I just…” She stared back towards the direction of the museum. “Did he remember?”

Chloé closed her eyes. “He _technically_ doesn’t, but it turns out Cesaire was filming, because of course she was. She managed to get her butt to safety the moment the akuma struck. She, um, she showed him the video.”

“She did?” Sabrina paled. “…Oh.”

Chloé nodded. “In point of fact, she showed _everyone_ the video, which unfortunately means you’ve been compromised.” She shrugged. “That sucked, because I was looking forward to going on patrol with you. However, what made it worth it was Ladybug. She was seven shades of pissed at Alya for doing that, which just made my day. Have you ever heard her curse? It’s adorable.”

She looked to Sabrina for a reaction, but the redhead was looking at the ground.

“So, um, tonight you’re staying at the hotel.” Chloé cleared her throat. “In fact, you’re gonna stay there for a while.”

Sabrina shook her head. “Look, I can’t just…”

“Sorry, um, but it’s already been decided?” Chloé said, her voice twisting up into a question. “After you left, mom and dad,” Chloé paused and smiled at that. “They um, they had a sit-down with Roger about, well, a lot of things, actually.”

Sabrina sniffed and looked up. “Really?”

Chloé nodded and grinned. “Yeah, it turns out when kids are involved, my new mom knows how to be even scarier than my old mom. They worked out an arrangement. You’re to stay as our guest. Mom… Heh. That’s still so cool to say. Sorry. Mom assured him you would be under her close supervision and that you would have your own separate room.” Chloé’s voice softened. “But… I won’t make you. If you want to go somewhere else, or even… Even back there, I won’t stop you. No one should force you on this, but for safety’s sake? Well, um, you know. It’s probably not a bad idea to come live with me and my family in our awesome hotel.”

“Chloé, that’s… You all did that for me?”

Chloé flipped her hair and grinned. “Of course we did. It was nothing big. Also, FYI? Daddy told your father that he has to do counseling with you or he’s fired.”

Sabrina seemed to shrink even smaller. “…Is he mad at me?”

Chloé saw the look on Sabrina’s face and felt a fire ignite inside her. She closed her eyes and mentally counted to five to calm herself down.

“Not that it matters, but no. He’s…” Chloé looked off to the side and hugged herself. “You know that sad, broken look my mother would make people get when she destroyed their lives? That about sums him up right now.”

“I should, I should probably go and apologize for…”

Chloé put a hand up. “He already left. He said he didn’t want to make you feel like you had to choose. Oh, and that he’s sorry he ruined your life, blah, blah, blah, you know. A lot of the usual bull parents say when they’ve messed up.”

“I should call him. I should…” Sabrina took out her phone. She started to select Roger’s contact, and then paused. She slowly put the phone down and looked to Chloé.

“I… I don’t have to, do I?” She asked. It was more a question to herself.

Chloé met her gaze. “I should say no, but I’ve been where you are. What…” She shuddered. “What do you want? Be honest.”

“What do I want?”

Chloé nodded. “Sabrina, what do you really, truly want?”

Sabrina wiped her nose. “I want…”

She took a breath.

“I want… I want to never, ever set foot in that apartment again. To never hear that his feeling bad is my fault. I want to spend time with friends and not feel guilty, or have to report back to anyone. I want… I want _friends_. You’re amazing and I love hanging out with you, but I want a, a group or a clique or whatever the word is nowdays and to do sleepovers and play video games and, and I want… I want to go with you to your hotel tonight, and I don’t ever want to leave. Never, ever. And, and I want to be able to dance with you, or, or hold your hand, or get ice cream, and not be scared. I _want_ to dance with you! Over and over, and I don’t ever want to hear that it’s wrong, or that you’re a, a tramp, or that… That I shouldn’t care about, about you, because I, I do care! I care about you so much and, and I want to… I want to do everything with you! I want to go to University, and get a good job, and I want to see the world! I want to go to the opera and walk along the river and kiss you, over and over and over, just because we can. And I want kids! And a family! And I want to go to the ocean for holidays! And, and I want to be held, and loved, and know that, know that I’m not bad for wanting anything. I want to know that I’ll never have to feel guilty for wanting anything, ever again!”

Chloé stared at her for a moment.

Then she nodded.

“Okay, done.”

Sabrina blinked, confused and still shaking from her rant. “What?”

“I said done. Doable. Considered and approved.” Chloé shrugged. She took out her phone and sent a quick text. “Ugh.” She looked at Sabrina for a moment. “You’re lucky you’re so damn cute.”

Sabrina stared at her, eyes wide. “But, but what? I…”

Chloé’s phone dinged. She looked at it and slumped a bit. “Okay, right. We are having a _sleepover_ ,” she hissed the word, “with Dupain-Cheng and her,” Chloé frowned. “Squad? Clique? Group of insufferable female friends? Whatever. They’ll be over on Friday.” She held up her phone. “She just confirmed.”

The phone dinged again. “And now she’s sending me emojis. And now I’m in a group chat. And now Rose is texting me. And Alya. And… Aurore? She’s not even in our class! How many people are on this? I didn’t invite… Kagami? And… Okay, I may have made a mistake.”

Chloé shut the app off. “So, friends. Done.”

Sabrina looked at her and felt her brain short circuit. “Wait, what? What are you talking about?”

Chloé opened a music app on her phone and selected a song. She then carefully set her phone on a stone bench and walked over to Sabrina, stopping right in front of her.

“Come on,” she said. She held out her hand. “Up.”

Sabrina hesitantly reached out, expecting Chloé to yank her up. Instead, she was gently lifted and pulled into Chloé’s arms as a slow song started to drift out of the blonde’s phone.

Sabrina stared at her, confused. Chloé saw the look on her face and rolled her eyes.

“You really know how to spoil things, Raincomprix, you know that?”

“What do you mean?” Sabrina asked, confused.

Chloé blew an errant strand blonde hair out of her eyes. “I mean, I was already planning on most of that, anyway. Like, there’s some details to iron out, but they’re doable. Would we adopt? Would one of us bite the bullet? I mean, I’ve got the hips for it? I can see that. Maybe we could trade off? I dunno. I’d need to look into how all that would work. And we’d have to pick a donor. Like, an _actual_ donor and not a weekend in Milan situation. I mean, unless you’re into that? I mean, I’m not, but if you are then, maybe? Not sure where I personally fall on that, kink-wise. Maybe if I watched? Eh, I guess it doesn’t matter yet. We’ve got a couple years there, anyhow.”

Sabrina stared, shocked. “…Wha?”

Chloé smiled at her. “And fortunately, I love the ocean. We can vacation in Spain, or maybe South America? That sounds exotic. Somewhere with a beach we can play at. And honestly, I’ll leave the University picking to you. I can do a business degree anywhere, so meh. Wherever you want is fine with me, but I get to decorate our apartment. That’s non-negotiable.”

Sabrina felt the breath leave her body. “Chloé…”

Chloé shrugged and made a show of thinking about it. “I mean, that’s all down the line. I get it if you change your mind. But, um, the dancing?” She blushed and pulled Sabrina a little closer. “I mean, of course I’d dance with you. That’s totally doable now. And the ice cream, the opera, and, um, you know. Couple stuff.”

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. “Couple stuff?”

Chloé pulled on her slightly and leaned forward. Sabrina’s eyes went wide as Chloé gently kissed her.

“Couple stuff,” she said, blushing.

Sabrina sniffed and said, “Sorry my dad nearly killed everyone and tried to burn down the wedding.”

Chloé delicately reached up and moved a strand of Sabrina’s hair behind her ear. “It happens.”

“So, we’ll be living together?” Sabrina asked.

“Well, we have separate rooms, but you are my neighbor now, so, you know,” Chloé shrugged and looked off to the side. Her fingers ran up and down along her sides. “Coming over might be a bit easier, I suppose.”

“For couple stuff?”

Chloé blushed and looked away. “Yeah. Couple stuff. I mean, if that’s what you want.” She glanced back at Sabrina. “You, um, you _do_ know that from here on out you’re getting whatever you want for the rest of your life, right? That was made clear?”

“I suppose,” Sabrina said. She leaned into Chloé. She rested her head against her shoulder. Chloé wrapped her arms around her and held her as they slowly swayed.

Chloé heard Sabrina clearing her throat.

“You okay?” Chloé asked.

Sabrina’s voice came out in a whisper. “What if, I mean… What if he’s right?”

Chloé’s eye twitched. “Excuse me?”

Sabrina swallowed. “I mean, what if, what if all this, you and me, the way I feel… What if it changes? What if… What if you get tired of me, or I move on, or something happens? What if this really isn’t who I am?”

Chloé went quiet for a few seconds.

“Is that what you think?”

Sabrina shrugged. “Well, no, but… You hear it enough, it gets to you.”

“I can see that,” Chloé said. Her thoughts went to her mother telling her over and over again how worthless she was. “I can totally see that.”

“I mean,” Sabrina said. “I know… I know who I am. I know what I feel, but… What if we don’t last? What if things _do_ break down between us?”

“Well,” she said slowly. “I guess we’ll just deal with that if it happens.”

“Do you think it will? I mean, do you think we’ll, um, you know…”

Chloé shrugged. “Honestly, I give me a one in three chance of messing this whole thing up, so, eh? Maybe?”

Sabrina snorted and nudged Chloé. “You’re not that bad.”

“Hey, you laughed,” Chloé said, smiling. She leaned back to look Sabrina in the eye. “Evening’s not a total wash.”

“Of course it isn’t,” Sabrina said. “You got a mom, we get to be neighbors, and, um, I was finally brave enough to say what was on my mind.”

“That _was_ pretty amazing. For a second there, I actually thought you were gonna for-real kill your dad.”

“…That’s not what I was talking about.”

There was a beat. A breeze drifted through the garden, kicking up some dry leaves.

Sabrina cleared her throat and looked off to the side. “I was, um, earlier? I guess I just, I was caught up in the moment, and I know, I know you’re…”

“I love you, too.”

The words were quick and casual.

It was also the first time she had ever directly said them.

In other words, very Chloé.

Sabrina stopped mid-sentence. Smiling, she relaxed against Chloé and kissed her cheek. “Well good, otherwise this whole thing would’ve been really awkward.” Sabrina’s voice went quiet. “I’ve waited for you to say that, you know.”

Chloé held her close and shrugged. “I figured you knew? But, you know, if it makes you feel better… I…”

Chloé swallowed and closed her eyes. She did her best to calm the shaking that was running through her body.

Sabrina pulled back, concerned. “Chloé? Are you alright?” She saw the look on Chloé’s face. “Hey, it’s okay. I know that’s a lot for you.”

Chloé held her tight and shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I… I’m okay, I just…”

A year ago, Chloé had started working on trying to redeem herself.

It meant admitting a lot of things about herself that she didn’t like. Things about her behavior, her feelings, her attitude.

In that time, Chloé had decided to take a chance and let someone into her heart. She had been cautious, terrified, and skeptical, but she stuck with it. And now? A year later, she had a mom that finally loved her, she had her powers back, and she had the respect of her peers. In short, she had everything she had ever wanted, save for one last, critical thing. And now it, _she_ , was right here in her arms, waiting for her.

All this gave her a confidence she had never known. It showed her she could love, and that she was worthy of the love of others.

She was worthy of what was being given to her, right then and there.

She was worthy of this wonderful, ferocious, beautiful fireball in her arms.

And for the first time, she had the courage to admit it.

 _‘If I can do all that, if I deserve mom and Pollen and everything else…’_ Chloé thought to herself. _‘I can do this. I’m Chloé Bourgeois. I am a hero_. _I can do this.’_

She opened her eyes, met Sabrina’s gaze, and took a deep breath.

_‘I can do this for her.’_

“I… I love you. I’ll love you until the stars go out. I’ve loved you since I met you. I love how caring you are, your devotion and kindness, how beautiful your eyes are behind your glasses, the sound of your voice when you say my name, the scent of your shampoo, the feel of your hand, everything. Everything that is you. I always have, and, um…” Chloé cleared her throat. “I’ve never, ever stopped. Even when we were, um…” Her voice grew small. “Even when we were fighting. Even when I thought you’d never speak to me again.”

Sabrina felt her heart skip a beat. “You mean it?”

“I’m not good at this,” Chloé said. She ran her hand over her face. “But, um, I…” She held Sabrina tightly and started to tear up. Her voice warbled as she spoke. “I am _never_ letting you go. I don’t care what happens, or how bad things may get, or what the future holds. Even if, you know, you do move on? I’ll be here.” She let out a long breath. “I’ll be here forever.”

Sabrina wrapped her arms around Chloé and felt herself caught between a laugh and a sob. “Thank you.”

“Please, it’s the least I could do, after all.” Chloé chuffed. The effect was ruined by her sniffing back her tears. She pulled back and smiled at Sabrina.

“I love you. I should have said it when we met. I’ll say as many times as you need me to, and I’ll say it a thousand more. I’ll…” Chloé bit back her tears. “I’ll say it for the rest of your life.”

Sabrina felt her tears running down her cheeks as she smiled at the blonde in her arms. “You’d better, Bourgeois.”

Chloé raised an eyebrow. “Oh! Is that a bit of sass I detect?”

Sabrina smirked and playfully looked off in mock consideration. “Weeeeelllllllll, I can be forward when the mood strikes me.”

“I look forward to seeing that.”

“Hmm, well, It’s rare. You’ll have to make an appointment.”

“Oh? Well then, when do you think you’ll have an opening?”

Sabrina shrugged. “I don’t know. What are your plans tonight?”

Chloé grinned.

They both leaned in, but Sabrina blinked as she suddenly remembered something. “Oh yeah.” She stepped back and groped for the pocket that Marinette had sewn into her dress (because of _course_ she did) and pulled out a small box. “Before I forget? Here. This, um, fell out of Marinette’s purse. You wanna be the one to give it back, or should I?”

Chloé took the box and idly twirled it in her hands. “I’ll make sure it gets back to her.”

Sabrina nodded.

“…She’s Ladybug, isn’t she?”

“Oh yeah,” Chloé said, nodding. “Totally.”

“Thought so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter so, so much. It's easily one of my favorites. I didn't know how much Chloé had to say until she got going. Honest to God, I originally didn't have half of this dialouge, but, eh, things happen?
> 
> One more to go.


	10. A Simple Moment

It was early evening. Sabrina was sitting at an outdoor café, checking over her Literature assignments on her phone and sipping a coffee. Despite being her temporary guardian, Ms. Bourgeois (God, that was still weird to say) had not let up on homework in the slightest. While Sabrina was a gifted student, even she had to admit with the course load that it was nice to have a study buddy nearby. It had definitely made the last several weeks easier.

At first, Sabrina had been slightly overwhelmed by having a family unit hover over her. Caline had taken to her like a mother hen to a stray chick, and while André had always been nice to her before, he was positively fawning on her since she came to live with them. Even butler Jean was gushing over her. It was unnerving at first, but by the third day, Sabrina gave in and went with it.

When she found out they had postponed their honeymoon to make sure they could be there for her, Sabrina almost bailed out of guilt. She only calmed down when they told her they just rescheduled it for the next school break.

“This way, you can both come with us,” Caline had said.

Sabrina was about to protest, but Chloé had clapped her hand over Sabrina’s mouth and growled, “It’s the Maldives. Don’t fuck this for me.”

So yeah, the honeymoon was postponed.

Frankly, Sabrina was also a bit overloaded at having a female parental figure in her life again, let alone two parent-types who were actually supportive. She had forgotten how nice it was to go shopping, or sit down to a real family dinner, or just veg and watch a movie, or to just be hugged throughout the day.

Oh, yeah. That was something Sabrina had heard, but only just recently confirmed. Caline was a hugger.

More than that, she had gone full mom. Breakfasts, walks along the river, all of it. Caline even read to them at night, which seemed weird to Sabrina until Caline got going. Sabrina’s new evenings would typically end with her and Chloé wrapped in blankets, munching on snacks and drinking juice while Caline sat across from them in a poofy red chair and read out loud, adding extra emphasis and even doing voices. According to Caline, it was good to have some family time at night that didn’t require technology. Sometimes André would join them, but he would usually fall asleep midway through. They were already halfway through _The Fellowship of the Ring._

While Chloé had rolled her eyes when Caline had started the whole bedtime routine thing, both girls confided to each other that it was, well, nice.

Also, on that. Having her girlfriend right freaking there? That was a plus.

True to her word, Chloé had made a point of taking her for ice cream. Well, that, and she danced with her by the Seine, and took her to the opera, and so on.

And to Sabrina’s delight, Chloé did kiss her, often and with gusto. While they were quickly piling up, her favorite moments so far were split between after dancing together on the Love Lock bridge as a street band played on, the night of the wedding, when Chloé summoned her courage and wonderfully, overflowingly confessed her love, and under a full moon atop the Eifel Tower while both were in costume.

Someone might have asked _very_ nicely to borrow a miraculous, and the new guardian is a sucker for romance, so, you know.

So yeah, she had a girlfriend right there. It was… It was pretty awesome.

And yes, admittedly, sometimes Sabrina didn’t _immediately_ go to her suite after Caline said goodnight to them.

Speaking of Caline…

“You’re sure he said he’s coming?” Caline asked. She was still in her work clothes and sitting across from Sabrina. She looked around for about the twentieth time.

“That’s what he said,” Sabrina hummed as she looked up from her phone. “He’s nothing if not punctual.”

Sabrina smiled as Caline straightened her red and black blazer and looked around again. She was about to say something, but then they both jumped a little as a throat cleared behind them.

Sabrina looked up to see Roger standing a little ways away with his hat in his hand.

“Hi, Sabrina.”

Sabrina offered a small smile. “Hey,” she said. “You’re right on time.”

Caline glanced at Roger and then back to Sabrina. She stood, walked behind her, squeezed Sabrina’s shoulder and said, “I’ll be across the street if you need me.”

Sabrina patted her hand. “It’s alright. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Caline made sure to shoot a glare at Roger before she left.

Roger paled and swallowed.

“I’m, um, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Roger asked. “Because if I am, I can, um, I can come back? Or we can do this another night? I don’t…”

“You’re fine,” Sabrina said as she set her phone off to the side. “I was about to order, so you’re right on time.”

Roger flashed a nervous smile and sat down. He was still in his work clothes and looked slightly beat.

“Rough day?” Sabrina asked.

Roger nodded. “Dealt with some hooligans near the Louvre. Couple’a jokers tried to spray paint the pyramid.”

“Sounds rough.”

Roger nodded. “I handled it.”

They considered each other for a moment.

“So,” Roger started. “Um, order whatever you like. Tonight is on me. Least I can do for you, after all.”

“That’s okay,” Sabrina said. She patted the purse at her side. “I’ve got me covered.”

“Oh?” Roger asked.

Sabrina nodded. “Mr. Bourgeois got me a part time job as a concierge. I’m really good at it, too! He says that if I keep it up, he might promote me to event coordinator!”

“And it pays?” Roger asked, impressed.

Sabrina nodded. “It pays really well. I even have a savings account, and Ms., um, Caline helped me set up a fund for when I go off to University.”

Roger smiled. “Is that what you want to… I mean, that’s wonderful. I’m glad you’re doing okay.”

“I am,” Sabrina said, smiling.

Roger fidgeted.

“Hey, um, sweetie?”

“Yes?”

Roger lowered his head.

“Look. I… I know I said this in counseling already, but, I wanted to say it without someone prompting us. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Sabrina closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. “It’s… It’s okay, dad. I…”

“Please,” Roger said. “I… I’m sorry for everything. You… You were right.”

Sabrina sat quietly.

“You were right about everything. I… I was so scared of… I…”

“…Dad?” Sabrina shifted in her seat.

“Please,” Roger said. “Let me say this. I owe you this.”

Roger took a deep breath.

“I was scared that once you turned your eyes to the world, that would be it. You’re so much smarter than me. You’re brave, resourceful, kind, and I knew I’d lose you to school, or a good job or… I especially knew the second someone had your heart, I’d drift into the background and I… I knew that you’d be done with me.”

Sabrina felt her stomach knot up. “Dad… Daddy, that’s not…”

“It _is_ true, because that’s what kids do when they grow up,” Roger said. “And it’s… It’s normal, and it’s the way it is, and I just… I was too selfish to admit it. It’s just… You’re so independent, and big, and… I guess I didn’t want to see it. And I did everything I could to try to…”

Roger paused to take a breath. He wiped his face and did his best to look Sabrina in the eyes.

“I’m sorry, pumpkin. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to shame you, or make you feel… I shouldn’t have tried to make you feel like you couldn’t be you when, when you’re so amazing. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I pushed you over the edge, and I’m sorry it took me driving you away and you finally leaving for me to realize who you are.” He looked up at her. “I know that doesn’t fix things, but… I wanted you to know that.”

“Thank you,” Sabrina said in a quiet voice. “But, you know that doesn’t excuse how you acted, right?”

Roger nodded. “I know.”

Sabrina sighed and took off her glasses to rub her eyes. “Look, you’re… I appreciate the effort. I know this is hard for you, but, but I’m learning people don’t just change. Change takes, um, takes time. I don’t know what led you to think of, of who I am like you do, but…”

Roger closed his eyes. “I know. I… I don’t know how to just not, not be me, but… I’m willing to try to, um, to listen? If that’s okay? I just… That’s the best I can think of to start. I… I’m not very good at this parent thing, I guess.”

Sabrina reached across the table and took his hand.

“Hey,” she said. “I suppose that, um, if I’m good at being all independent? It’s because you raised me to be. _That’s_ a good thing, right? Maybe we can start there?”

Roger sniffed back some tears and wiped at his face with his free hand. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s the best thing. But between you and me, I credit your mom for that one.” He sniffed loudly. “So, um, tell me about… About you and, and Chloé. Are you, um, are things… Good?”

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re up for talking about that?”

Roger paused, but then he nodded. “I’m… I’m up for talking about _you_. Are, um, things good? Are they treating you well over there?”

Sabrina nodded and smiled. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, things are pretty good.”

Roger looked at his daughter’s face and smiled back. “That’s… I’m glad you’re doing well. How’s school?”

Sabrina settled in as she talked about her day, her friends, and the nuances of her daily life. Across the table, her father sat and sipped his water.

While things were admittedly broken between them, Sabrina knew that as long as they were both willing to try, there was a chance to repair their relationship. While a month ago she would have had a hard time believing this, at that moment, it dawned on her that something had happened that before, she never would have thought possible.

For the first time in what felt like years, Sabrina talked to her father.

And he didn’t tell her she was wrong.

He didn’t tell her what she should be doing or how she should be feeling.

He didn’t correct her or contradict her.

Instead?

Sabrina talked.

And her father listened.

***

Sabrina finished her coffee and watched as Roger waved again before he headed back to his apartment. A moment later Caline was practically vibrating by her side, a worried look on her face.

“Are you okay?” Caline asked. Her tone was a tad frantic.

“Gaah! Were you watching the whole time?” Sabrina asked, surprised. “I figured you went home.”

Caline frowned and sat across from Sabrina. “Never. There was no way I was leaving you alone with him.” She eyed Sabrina. “Are you okay? Did, did he say anything or do anything to…”

Sabrina shook her head. “He was fine.” She smiled a little. “He actually, um, he listened to me talk about my day and, um… It was good.”

“You’re sure?”

Sabrina smiled as a server refilled her mug. She added two sugars and took a sip. “I’m sure.”

“And you’re sure you’re comfortable with this?” Caline said. “Meeting like this? I know what your therapist recommended, but honestly, you don’t have to do this. If he ever makes you uncomfortable, you’re not obligated to stay for it. You can come home any time, okay?”

Sabrina smiled. “I’m okay, and, um, it’s your home. I’m just a guest.”

Caline reached across the table. “It’s your home now too, sweetie. You’re one of my kids, whether you like it or not.”

“Ms. Bourgeois, I… You’ve been so kind to me these last few weeks. I can’t… I feel like I’ve taken advantage.”

“Says who?” Caline asked. “You deserve a home where you can feel safe and comfortable to be who you are. Heck, your grades have even gone up, and you were one of my top students to begin with. If that’s not a positive sign, I don’t know what is.”

“I live with my teacher,” Sabrina pointed out. “You could argue favoritism.”

Caline glanced at Sabrina. “Does it feel like I’ve been going easy on you?”

Sabrina looked at her phone and the list of assignments she had to do that night. She sighed. “No. No, it does not. Point.”

Caline’s face softened. She squeezed Sabrina’s hand. “I know I’m not… Look. I hope I haven’t overstepped any boundaries, and I know I’m not actually your mom, but for as long as you’ll let me, I swear I will make sure you’re okay.”

Sabrina blushed. She pulled back a bit and adjusted her glasses. “What if Chloé and I break up?”

Caline shrugged. “Then I won’t complain if one of you wants to move to a different room.” She shot Sabrina a look. “Or, you know, actually sleep separately.”

Sabrina turned crimson.

“Hey, I’m just ribbing you,” Caline said with a laugh.

“I… Chloé’s wonderful, and I…” Sabrina swallowed. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen, and I know we’re still really young, but… I can’t see myself with anyone else. I just can’t.”

Caline shrugged. “And that may change, and it may not. For now, enjoy what you have.”

“You mean a girlfriend?”

Caline smiled. “I mean a family.”

Sabrina wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

Caline wasn’t kidding.

“I love her,” Sabrina sputtered. “I love her so much. And you’re so nice to me, and you’ve all made me feel _so_ loved and, and I just…”

“Hey now,” Caline said. She got out of her chair and came around to hug Sabrina. “It’s okay.”

“Can I tell you something?” Sabrina said in a small voice as she hugged her back.

Caline nodded.

“You were… Daddy isn’t big on hugs. I mean, he does them, but not… You were the first person that, I haven’t…” Sabrina slipped into a whisper. “You were the first… First parent that really, um, really held me since my mother died.”

Caline shut her eyes and held Sabrina tightly. “Oh God. I… Oh, sweetheart.” She put her hand to the side of Sabrina’s head and gently stroked her hair. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Sabrina said. She sniffed. “This has just been… It’s been so long since I’ve felt like I was in a fa… Family. I’ve just been waiting for the other shoe to drop, is all.”

Caline squeezed her. “Not happening. Not now, not ever. I protect my kids.” She leaned back and wiped a tear from Sabrina’s cheek. “And _you,_ sweetheart, are one of my kids.” She looked Sabrina in the eye. “You’re never going without hugs again, I promise.”

She kissed the side of Sabrina’s head again and rested her cheek against the shuddering girl.

“Hey there, kiddo. I mean it,” Caline said, her voice just above a whisper. “You’re one of us. You’re a member of this family, and I love you. We love you. We’ll love you for the rest of your life.”

It was a simple moment. A good moment. For some people, it would be one of those nice memories that eventually gets lost or faded over time.

For Sabrina though, it became one of those strange anchor moments that stick with you, playing at the fringes of your thoughts as you go through life.

She would feel it in the back of her mind as a gentle reminder on their first Christmas morning together, when she and Chloé found themselves in matching pajamas and surrounded by wrapping paper as a not-very-mobile Caline sat and sipped her cocoa next to a sleepy André, her _My Ranch, My Rules_ mug steaming in her hands.

She’d feel it again a couple months later when she was brought into the hospital room to hold Camille for the first time.

“Say hi to your little sister,” Caline had told her. Sabrina looked the tiny bundle in her arms and swore right then and there that she would die for her if she had to.

Sabrina would remember this moment again quite out of the blue two years later. It was when Caline hugged her at graduation as she handed her a diploma and kissed her cheek.

She would unexpectedly remember it again a year later atop the Eifel Tower. It was when Chloé, furiously blushing and in costume, would scoot their picnic basket off to the side, drop to one knee, and offer her a ring. It was one of the only times she ever heard Chloé stutter.

She would think about it when Caline hugged her on the dancefloor at her own wedding a few months later and cried as Sabrina, her throat barely working, said the words, “I love you, mom,” for the first time in years.

The first time out _loud_ , at any rate.

She’d feel it a couple years later when she handed a weeping Caline a tiny bundle as Chloé, exhausted and half out of it, offered a weary thumbs up from her hospital bed. Pollen happily buzzed around them as Caline leaned against André, who asked for the hundredth time what the baby’s name was.

They had all agreed not to tell him until the baby was born. When he heard, he broke down beside Caline and kissed every inch of his new grandson’s face. Sabrina remembered the smell of his aftershave as he hugged her and told her he loved her, and how proud he was of her. Of both of them.

She’d feel it during campouts and family trips and visits to the beach. During fights and makeups. She felt it on holidays, and birthdays, and when Camille went off to school, leaving Caline broken and crying as they watched her drive away.

She’d be overwhelmed with it when her own son finally packed his things into the back of a small green van and hugged her goodbye as he left for University with his girlfriend. The ring Sabrina had slipped him to give to her tucked safely in his pocket.

That night, she cried in Chloé’s arms until she passed out.

She remembered it when she watched her son walk down the aisle.

She remembered it that horrible evening when the phone rang, only for it to fall from Chloé’s hands as she crumpled onto a dining room chair. Sabrina held her and fought back tears as she realized the quick hug she had shared with their father a week ago had been their last.

She remembered it a year later when they cried out along with all of Paris in triumph. They were bruised, battered, but finally, _finally_ victorious. The peacock and butterfly miraculous both clenched in a weary, shaking red hand. Chloé had looked to her at that moment and grinned, her face filthy and outfit torn, but her smile was shining through as a swarm of ladybugs washed over them. Sabrina saw that smile and the gleam in her eye, and suddenly, they were kids again. Suddenly, Sabrina felt herself fall in love all over again, just as hard and fast as the first time.

She remembered it when she stood beside Chloé in the delivery room and was handed a small bundle with a tiny tuft of sandy blonde hair, and said hello to their granddaughter. Her son was smiling proudly while her daughter-in-law, completely spent, grinned at them both from the bed.

They had teased Chloé for weeks about potentially naming the child after it’s maternal grandmother, but they hadn’t told anyone, not even Caline, what they were actually doing until that day.

Anyone but Sabrina, that is. She felt her knees go weak at the sight of Caline holding her great granddaughter for the first time.

“She’s perfect,” Caline had said. “What’s her name?”

André cleared his throat and took his wife’s hand.

“Caline,” he said, a lump in his throat. “Caline M. Bourgeois.”

Chloé’s eye twitched. “What’s the M stand for?”

Both André and his wife shrank a bit, but Caline senior didn’t notice as she gently rocked her great grandchild.

“Hey there, kiddo.” Caline whispered to the tiny, sleeping baby. “Don’t you worry about a thing, little one. You’re one of my kids, too.”

She remembered a few years after that when they sat down to what they thought was a normal, weekly dinner with their mom, only for a shaking Caline to tell them the last thing they wanted to hear.

She remembered it as the summer slipped by far too quickly.

She remem…

…

…

She remembered it on a chilly autumn evening as she sat in her mother’s bedroom and held a frail, liver-spotted hand.

She remembered it as she felt the hand that had held her _so many times_ start to loosen in her grip. Camille sat across the hastily setup hospital bed, clung to their mother’s other hand, and openly wept. Next to her was Chloé, nestled in a worn-out red, poofy chair with a book in her hands.

Chloé’s eyes were watery as she read aloud in a broken, halted voice. The pages of the beat-up, aged paperback were discolored by tears, making it hard to see the words, but she kept reading.

She kept reading, even when Sabrina turned off the monitor beside them as it switched from a weak rhythm to a steady whine.

Later, when everything was quiet and it was just the two of them, Chloé told her that reading that last page was the hardest thing she had ever done in her life.

“It was her favorite,” she murmured. “I just wanted her to hear the rest.”

The suite’s living room and hotel floor beyond was absolutely overflowing with visitors, friends, and family. The memory would stay with Sabrina as she emerged with her wife and her sister to see their faces and realize that for the first time, the three of them were truly orphans.

The group surrounded them, holding them as they wept.

She would cling to the memory two days later as she stood beside her wife along the shore of the Seine, a small jar cradled in their hands. Their friends and family stood with them as they said goodbye, one last time. She was shaken at how destroyed Chloé was, her normally strong presence gone. She felt her heart break for her son and his family as they cried beside them. Marinette, normally upbeat, looked broken as she leaned into Adrien.

She listened as they said goodbye, each in their own ways.

Marinette lowered a bouquet of black and white flowers into the water.

Juleka played a simple tune on her guitar as Rose sang in a breaking voice.

Most left roses. Alya and Nino scattered them along the surface of the water, along with Ivan. Nathaniel let a picture he had done of her in his youth slip from his fingers into the current.

Alix, her red hair finally starting to show streaks of gray, stood off to the side. She hugged herself and wrapped her trench coat tight to her frame. She wiped at her eyes before quietly slipping away in a flash of light.

She was never good at goodbyes.

Adrien tried reading a poem from a crumpled, yellow piece of paper, but locked up midway through and couldn’t speak through his sobs.

She had been his last parental figure, too.

Camille tried to say something, _anything_ , but she couldn’t get past a goodbye. Her words stopped working, and she would have collapsed had Emilie not been there to hold her. She made her way to Chloé, who wrapped her into a tight hug.

At one point, Sabrina saw a several small forms float through the air down to the water. One red, one black, and one black and white. One left a cookie, one a piece of cheese, and the third curiously left what looked like a small microwave pizza. They hugged each other, the black and white one sobbing as the other two consoled him.

That day, regardless of who they were, all of them felt the hole in their hearts. It had been left there by a woman who had been miraculous in her own right. A woman who once upon a time had made a promise to watch over them. All of them.

And she kept that promise well and beyond what anyone would have expected.

A woman who, in no uncertain terms, saw _all_ of them as her kids.

Through it all, through everything miraculous that was coming, through the pain, the joy, the laughter, the loss… This one simple memory stayed with Sabrina for the rest of her life.

It was because it was the moment that she looked at Caline and for the first time, she didn’t see a teacher, or an adult, or even a friend.

It was the moment Sabrina saw her mom.

Even moreso, it was the moment she truly realized that she was a member of the Bourgeois family.

And for the rest of her life, and with all of their hearts, they would _never_ let her forget it.

And she wouldn’t. She remembered it every single day. Every time she held her grandchildren, and her friend’s grandchildren, and even a couple of great grandchildren. She would remember it when she would be there for her friends as they said goodbye, one by one.

And…

…

And when, on one spring morning it was finally her turn, with friends and family and so much love surrounding her as she lay in bed, she remembered one last time. It was when she said goodbye and felt a soft kiss on her forehead. She heard the sound of her beloved’s voice beside her. She felt her hand being gently caressed. She lay and listened to quiet words that fell from trembling lips. Words she had heard over and over, that were always just for her.

“I’ll love you until the stars go out,” Chloé whispered, her voice, buried under decades, still held that same nervous energy, that wonderful, musical quality that made Sabrina’s heart flutter. “I’ve loved you since I met you. I love how caring you are, how wonderful you are with our children, and our grandchildren, how you’ve brought out the best in me, and in our family, and… And how beautiful your eyes are behind your glasses, the sound of your voice when you say my name, the… The scent of your shampoo, the feel of your hand,” Chloé paused, her words halting. “Everything. I love everything that is you. I always have, and I’ve never, ever stopped.”

Chloé kissed her hand and held it tight. “You just rest, okay? I’ve got things. You’re not alone. I’m right here, and it’s going to be okay. You are so loved. You are so, _so_ loved…”

And then that voice started to gently fade away.

Sabrina looked past her family and her friends and her beloved.

She looked at a worn-out red chair in the corner of the room, and saw her mother sitting there.

She was reading a book and patiently waiting, neat as you please. She folded a page to mark her place, straightened her red and black jacket, and smiled at Sabrina.

She was young and bright again, with her messy hair still in that bun, and she was smiling at her like…

Like a mother that hadn’t seen her daughter in a long, long time.

“Hey there, kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.
> 
> I’ve never broken down into full-on crying while writing something before. I’ve paused before and had to wipe my face, but this… You have no idea how hard it was to finish this. I hate saying goodbye. Maybe that’s why Alix left. Maybe she can help us revisit someday, once I can look at this without it gutting me.
> 
> Honestly, this isn’t where I was going with this story. I was writing the café scene. I ENDED with the café scene, and then I came back to it and then it grew a bit, and then it kept going and wouldn’t stop. Nothing about the last section was planned until it just happened and left me stunned.
> 
> And then, when I came back to clean it up, it woke back up and added one last little goodbye, just to make sure Sabrina, and in turn all of the cast, would eventually know the truth. 
> 
> Good mom Caline will always watch over her kids.
> 
> A lot of people were upset with how the original Caline arc ended, saying it was too abrupt, and they were right. I just didn’t know how to finish it… And then I did. This was my goodbye to this arc, and to Caline. She has been my favorite character ever to write. If I revisit, it’ll be from a new angle, or to clean something up. This was… I need to walk away from this AU for a bit. Maybe do something else, or something lighter.
> 
> Maybe see where Alix ran off to? Or check in on Mari after she finds out she’s pregnant? Maybe definitively address who Gina ends up with? I dunno.
> 
> Later.
> 
> A huge thank you to my prereader Kasienda for her feedback and help with this one. There were a lot of themes to unpack this time around, and it never feels like I’ve gotten them the way I wanted to. Some of this felt a bit out of my depth, and I had to write and rewrite a lot of what was here. I hope it worked, and I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Also, I added close to 25 pages after I got back my last notes from her, so this is not her fault.
> 
> Now for something a little lighter.
> 
> Easter Eggs and bonus special notes!
> 
> I feel like the events of this story led to Sabrina being even more open and outgoing than she is in the show, which helps back her personality in the Gina arc. So, there’s that.
> 
> Bitch-Mode Caline is a reference to The Adventures of Captain Cowgirl.
> 
> Ziggy mentioning eating all of Caline’s pizzas, as well as his offering at her funeral, is a reference to Even Heroes Need Help Sometimes.
> 
> Luka being inspired by hanging lights was a nod to the Gina arc. I’m sure he’ll put that to good use down the line.
> 
> Cheshire callouts are always welcome.
> 
> Chat Nu is French for nude cat. It, um, it worked for the scene.
> 
> Chloé knowing about Plagg comes from The One-Time Adventure of Chloé Noir.
> 
> Adrien was trying to reread his poem from I Don’t Remember the River.
> 
> Caline’s red and black jacket is the same one she got in What To Do When Your Superhero Has The Flu.
> 
> As an aside- Rose’s outburst during the party at Chat that caused the room to erupt with laughter was originally a lot, lot worse. I deleted it and rewrote it, and it was so bad I couldn’t even send it my prereader in good conscience. Rose has no filters in my head canon.
> 
> Because I’ve been asked a lot, here’s an answer. In my AU, eventually, one by one, everyone figures out who Ladybug and Chat Noir are. The absolute last people to find out… Are Marinette and Adrien. I figure this happens sometime post present-day timeline in the Gina arc, most likely during the pregnancy.
> 
> I’ve known who André (junior) eventually ends up with for a while now, but I felt it was more fun to leave it ambiguous. Only I guess I didn’t, really. 
> 
> I can still hear Chloé dancing with her son at his wedding and hissing, “Really? REALLY?” Over and over into his ear while a giddy Sabrina dances with her new daughter-in-law.
> 
> And for those of you that took a guess and might have been upset, please remember that these stories have so much spare room for things to grow in. Especially with the future kids. 
> 
> Also, Alix could still screw everything. So, for all you shippers, there’s that. #TinyTimeDisaster
> 
> Anyway, thank you as always for reading, and I hope to see you again soon.
> 
> Want more writing content? Notifications? Pick my brain in the Ask Me section? I have a Tumblr. Please don’t make me regret posting this.
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/ronoken
> 
> Take care, kiddos.


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